Blog's Reading Level

Was reading Steamy Kitchen blog when I came across this award for blog's reading level. And my itchy hand can't help but go and click to see what level of education is needed to read my blog. And lo & behold, one have to be a college (Postgrad) education level to understand my blog!!! Now I understand why I am having trouble understanding some of the things that I wrote there myself! hehehehe...

An Army

OMG!!! Was asking babe's sister how many people will be coming to the house tomorrow as I was thinking of either cooking some lunch or bring them out for mamak food. And guess what, there will be at least 15 people!! OMG!! (Yes, I am panicking now!) :

Eldest sis + family = 5
2nd sis + family = 4
aunty A + family = 4
uncle D + family = 4
auntie C = 2
Uncle YB = 2
(I even need to calculator to add up the above numbers!)
TOTAL: 21 people (OMG!!!!!)

Not sure how the small entourage become a big party. I heard something about one auntie/uncle calling another and then another and then another. I guess they are all excited about this as I am (or more than I am from the looks of things). It is either that or they love me sooooooo much and am soooooooooo happy that I will be part of their family soon??? (yah yah yah, perasan!!)

So, no cooking. I can cook for 30 people but not in one morning unless I want to wake up at 3am to go buy food and start cooking by 5am. Or else I can go order something in (eiks!! $$$$$$) I think better not. His mom suggested just cakes and drinks. Guess I will also need to get some tidbits for the kids. GASP!

Am thinking how to fit EVERYONE into my living room. Push the kids and the more juniors one to the 2nd living room while the 'older' generation talk??? Or just let them do whatever they want and hang out wherever they can? Ggrrrr, can I kick my babe butt for not being here! Clever man! Yes, I am feeling very very very blurred now and am really wishing for a remote control that I can use to fast forward the time to next year!

Coffee Addiction

I am 42% Addicted to Coffee

Hhmm...rather surprising that I am only 42% addicted to coffee since I do need a cuppa in the morning in order to get started. I drink this black with no sugar and some milk. Occasionally when I have late night, will order for super thick nescafe instead. I do love to go for ice-blended occassionally or have espresso with the rich cheesecake. (oh no, this just started by craving for cheesecake again!!)

Plateau

I was reading an interesting article today emailed by a friend to me on plateau. Plateau is when the weight lost had suddenly stop eventhough you were doing the usual activities that has helped you to lost weight previously. This could be happening either because your body had managed to evolve and adapt to the activities that you are on or simply the activities is not 'heavy' enough for your new bodyweight/fitness level.

Hence, when this happens, the health & fitness experts recommend the following:

1. Lift some weight
This is where you start on your strength training and try to build more muscle, increase lean mass and strengthen the bone. Ultimately, the goal is to boost and increase the metabolism of your body. So, start by using 1kg dumb bell and strengthen the arm and shoulder. Or join the gym and get professional advice.

2. Varies your food intake
I know, this might sound weird to some of you but variety in your food intake not because it will keep things interesting but the different calories intake will also help to prevent the plateau. So, suggestion is perhaps instead of strictly keeping to 1800 calories daily. Perhaps you can keep to 1600calories for 1-2days and then increase to 2000calories for another day. This will also allow you to give yourself the occasional treat without feeling guilty.

3. Exercise
I know that you been also told to have variety of exercise routine so that you won't be bored with the same thing daily. However, there is another good reason for the different exercise routine. Different exercise work different group of body parts and muscle. By keeping a variety, then you can ensure that you body does not only get a full workout but also ensuring that your body do not adapt to the routine when you have achieve the optimum level of fitness for that muscle group. There are really alot of activities that you can do. For example, yoga, aerobic, line dancing, self-defense classes, hip-hop and so forth.

4. Change food group
This is similar to number 2 but instead on concentrate on just the calories, you need to look at the type of food intake as well. For example, high carb occassionally and then switch to high protein once in a while. Try to mix match abit and see the difference. Perhaps for breakfast, instead of 2 slices of bread and peanut butter, switch to sausages and eggs.

5. Change ways of eating
If you been eating just three meals per day, try to add in snacks in between meals but make sure that you reduce the portion of the main meal! This is a good way to 'trick' your body. The idea is when you snack, you will eat less for main meal. Just make sure that you remember the portion control.

So, the conclusion is continue to eat the healthy way but change and vary the food quantity, type and frequency abit. As for exercise, try to do something new once in a while. For example, if you been jogging daily, try aerobic once or twice per week. Listen to your body. If it is bored, the it will stay stagnant and you will be in a plateau without even realising it!!

Calories counting

wow~ Was browsing SparkPeople and discover that calories burn for doing different activities. Most amazing is that Aerobic burns more calories compared to yoga. I always thought they are similar. Anyway, some numbers to share:

All is for 60min but it may varies depend on the person's weight

Yoga---------------- 360
Aerobic--------------650
Step-robic-----------950 (wahhhh!!!!)
Swimming-----------550
Pilates---------------312
Water jogging--------700
Tramboline----------300
Running(10min/mile)-900 (wahhhh!!)
Heavy housework ---400
Line dancing---------400
Gardening-----------300 (boohooo..almost same as yoga!!)

So conclusion is, if you are looking for fast weight lost, then go for aerobic (even better step aerobic). However, I can personally also say that yoga has its own benefit. Yoga is a good stress reliever and helps to have better blood circulation. And hence, improving youthfulness.

So, perhaps, the best is to have a combination of different activities for more variety and motivation to continue exercising to keep healthy.

Boulevard, Kuching

WAHHHHHHH~!! EVERYONE is talking about Boulevard including my parents. I really don't understand what the fuss is all about. Is Kuching people so desperate for entertainment or something new that a new shopping mall caused tremendous traffic jam from 3rd mile roundabout? I even saw some are willing to park their cars at the bus terminal and walk to the mall with their kids. (This was when I forgotten that the mall open on the day and end up stuck in the jam for about 20 minutes before I managed to 'escape' via a small road)

Guess when this madness is over and the Spring opens at Simpang Tiga area, the rush will go there instead. And then I can drive home in half the time it takes me now. Not forgetting later when Coldstorage opens at Green Height next year....omg!

Future In-Law Meeting Day~

Sooo it is official!! His mom and relatives (apparently will be alot of aunties & uncles coming, gasp!!) will be coming to my house this Saturday @ 11am! I was 'instructed' to ask if the time is ok and to say nothing else (sheesh!) And if my parents ask the purpose of the visit, I am suppose to say I don't know. True meh like that????
Anyway, I am so nervous! I ask my babe how come he don't have to be here but I need to be. He say its how it is done. OMG! Not fairrr.... How come the girls are the ones that need to sit thru this. I can't look~

Merry X'mas!! HO!HO!HO!

Hi All,
Its Christmas tomorrow!!!! This mean that the year 2008 is really just around the corner... So, have you make a checklist of what you want to do next year? Yes? Well, forget all about it for the time being because this is a time of celebration and remembering of the love ones! (boo hoo...1st time without my babe with me to give me Xmas and New Year kiss at the stroke of 12 midnite!)

Anyway, eat and be merry and leave the dieting to after 1 Jan 2008!

Mucks and Hugs everyone!

Pictures - Japan

Went to Osaka and Tenri Nara Japan in September this year. Took some really nice pictures but felt abit dissappointed with myself because I realised that I always seem to forget to take pictures. For example, 3 days in Japan an I only took about 50 pic???? At this age with digital camera, I should have been able to take more!! Jeez.... must start training myself to take picture of everything next time wherever I go on vacation! I even forgotten to take picture of the best monstor crab (deep sea crab) meal that my Sales guy treat me to in Osaka.....

Flowers ready to bloom. When autumn arrive, almost the whole plant will turn pink! Apparently, I arrived 1-2 weeks too early for that.

This is actually a typical house at Tenri Nara. Looks like something out of the movie studio.

One of the 'back' alley in the older part of Tenri Nara. Left and right are either small family owned tuck shop, cafe, trinklet shop or living quarters.

Pagoda near a garden with beautiful lake. This is across the lake from the beautiful house earlier. Imagine waking up to this everyday!

Another temple. Tenri Nara is a historical city with alot of temples.

Old living quarters. Some are no longer in use but for display purposes only.


Path walk from one temple to another. Very clean, peaceful and safe! No need to worry about snatch thieves here.

During Autumn, the trees all turn yellow and red (I was told). Making this a popular place for cameraman to take pictures. Again, I was 1-2weeks too early!


The stone at the side of the steps are filled with name of people that have made contribution to the temple. At the top of the steps, there is a natural spring where you can wash your face and feel more refreshed.

Inside one of the biggest temple in Asia. This pillar is actually the ear of the buddha before it colapsed due to earthquake. Look closely to the left of the pillar and you will see someone crawling out from it.

Deers roam freely in this town. Not only at the temples but also in a park next to the busy main road!

The deers are all very friendly and will even come near you to let you pat them

That is all for now. I have some more but uploading the pictures really takes a long long long time! I hope I will have opportunity to go there again. This time I was lucky as I went there for a business trip and hence everything paid for by the company. The room cost about RM300-400 per night for a pretty good hotel, inclusive of breakfast. Most of the staffs can speak pretty good English. The city is very very safe to go around even for a girl alone. I mean, I had a cultural shock when I was there because people leave their HANDBAG on the chair unattended while collecting food from the buffet tables. I dont think you can do that anywhere else without coming back to your table finding the whole bag gone.

Everyone there is very friendly and polite. Especially if they discover that you are not from Japan. They will make extra effort to help you understand their culture and what they are selling. Unlike in Malaysia, you stand right in front of them at the counter and the CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON an still ignore you! Sheesh! Talk about difference. I missed Japan so much after I came back that I actually went to jobstreet to look for vacancies there! hahaha

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Yeah, I know, flourless cake? Is there such a thing? I was sceptical too when I saw the recipe on the net (cant remember from whom, sorry!!) and just couldnt resist trying it out. The recipe was really simple and easy to make. The result was a fantastic light and yummy chocolate cake. Almost too fluffly to believe that there are not flour in it.

Ingredient:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
9 oz semi-sweet choc chip (you can use any type of choc chip but worth to use the high grade ones)
7 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
whipping cream (optional)
pinch of salt


How?
1. Use 1 tbsp butter to coat a pan and coat with flour(8-10 inch in diameter tray will do)
2. Refrigerate the pan while you prepare the batter
3. Mix choc with the remaining 6 tbsp of butter, heat in a double boiler till it melts (double boiler = put the bowl with the butter on top of another pan filled with boiling water over the fire)
4. Separate eggs and mix yolks in a small bowl
5. Add a small amount (1 tsp) of choc to yolks, then mix everything back to the choc mixture
6. Set aside and keep warm
7. Beat the egg white with salt till they form peaks. Add sugar 1 tsp at a time till stiffen
8. Folds the egg whites throughly into the choc mixture
9. Carefully pour the cake into the pan
10. Bake @ 250F for 50-60 min or until the center is set but still jiggles
11. Whip the cream with sugar and some vanilla extract in a cold bowl
12. Garnish cake with whipped cream or powdered sugar

p/s: Make sure that you use clean dry bowl when beating the egg white or else it will not peak or stiffen.

Horlick Layer Cake

Gosh this blog is really encouraging me to dig out my old faithful binder files with my butter stained recipies. The Horlick Layer Cake is really one of the family favourites. It is not as sweet as traditional layer cake but super rich because of the ingredient. When my brother was studying in Penang, he will always make sure he 'hide' some of the cake to bring back with him for his so call friend (don't understand why he can't say its for her gf!).

But bewarned, this cake takes lots of patience and time. This cake requires around 4-5 hours of steaming. Do not be discouraged by this. The result was worth it!! I tried to bake this every Chinese New Year but I skipped a minor detail last year. The cake end up going mouldy in just 3 days! Suffice to say that I learned my lesson and will never ever do that again. So, DO NOT SHORTEN THE BAKING TIME!!!!! Anyway, happy trying:

Ingredient:
Butter 250gm
Caster Sugar 3/4 cup
Flour 1/2 cup
Eggs 10 + 1
Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
Horlick (original) 1/2 cup
Condensed milk 1 small can (about 1 1/3 cup)
Nescafe 1 tablespoon diluted in 2 spoon hot water
(You can use any other instant or decaf coffee but keep it strong!)

How:
1. Mix the butter and caster sugar with electric mixer until smooth and creamy
2. With the mixer still on at medium speed, add the 10 eggs 1 by 1 (note I typed 10. Keep the 1 egg for later)
3. Combine the baking powder and flour together and mix this gently to the egg,butter,sugar mixture.
4. Pour in the condensed milk.
5. Divide the batter into 2 bowl equally.
6. Add horlick to one of the batter and nescafe solution to the other one. Add the extra egg to the horlick batter so that the batter wont be so thick.
(Thanks Irene from Btu for making the effort to ask me!I completely forgotten about the extra egg. This shows how blur I am!)
7. You will need a steamer that you can fit your baking tray into. Normaly, I will recommend a round 8 inch tray but you can use a smaller one and bake 2 batches or using multi layer steamer, if you have one, to save time. Remember to keep the steamer at its lowest temperature or else your batter will have bubbles.
8. Greese the baking tray with cooking oil or olive oil.
9. Start by taking 1 scoop of the horlick batter (soup scoop/ladle will do very well) and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Don't worry if it start to mix with the oil.
10. Steam for about 10 min. If you see a bubble, use a long slim skewer and pierce it.
11. Pour the nescafe batter in and steam again. Repeat the process until the batter finished.
12. When you are finished with the last one, steam the whole cake for another 1 hour or until the skewer comes out from the middle of the cake completely clean.
13. Leave the cake on the rack to cool.

I know sounds like a complicated but believe me, you will get so much satisfaction when you cut the cake and see the delicate layers!

My Big Day?!?!

hehehe...I think my close friends and colleagues (categorised as friends too now) are more excited than me about this. The moment I am back from my weekend romancing and MC, 1st question, how is it? Did he tell his parents already? What they say? Already tell your parents? What they say? hahahaha.. (thanks my friends, I know you all care about me and I am touched!)

Anyway, my babe (ahem, fiance) was back from KL on last Friday night for the weekend. (yar..long distance relationship is no fun ~>_<~).... The official reason he is back is to attend a good friend wedding @ church and dinner reception on Saturday. The unofficial reason: to tell his mom & dad our plan to get married next year!

My babe proposed to me on my first visit middle of this year. Guess he had alot of time to think because he even thought of a date and reason. He wana official be married in the eye of law (register lar!~) on 08 Aug 08 because it will signify the 8th year me & him paktor! To be honest, I totally didn't expect him because my babe is really shy when discussing this kind of stuff. Which is why he really surprised me when he do something romantic! Yah, he melts my heart totally!! hahaha...

We initially plan to register as we both want to save $$ for house, vacation/honeymoon and bb but as we suspect will happen, his mom insisted on church blessing & at least buffet lunch reception after that. Even better if have dinner reception. We then drove to meet his dad @ 7 mile to tell him too (his parents are separated). We hinted and hoped the dad will offer to sponsor the wedding reception.. (hahaha!!) We did not get a direct ok but overall, I think he will say yes. Maybe not for all the whole dinner but whatever help from his dad will be added bonus for the two of us.

So, now that his parents know, we need to inform mine. I am waiting for his mom to 'discuss' with the uncles first and then set appointment to discuss with my parents. Something like chinese mei ren I think. One of the uncles is actually a YB (what position or party? no idea!! :P) I have no idea what or how they will do. I only know that my babe is not suppose to be there. I need to be present with my parents (yah leave all the hard work to me!hmmpff!). The uncles will handle all the 'negotiate' on things like how many tables for the bride, when, where, who, etc. Since this is going to be a mixed race wedding, I really have no idea how it will go or what are the tradition or pantang.Gosh..I am feeling nervous actually!

On Sunday, we actually started to ask around for cost of reception. Went to Li Garden (since my babe wana look for headphone for his hp). The price there range from RM350-450 depending on the menu. The price is not bad as I remember seeing shark fin soup even on the cheapeste menu but it does not include drinks, peanuts and wet towel (add RM25 per table). Cover charge for one crate of beer is RM5 and no charge for liquor. This is pretty fare I guess although hotel would be free. No decoration though. Just a small stage with the backdrop. And dinner ends around 9.30-10pm. The lady didn't believe us when we say it might need to go on until midnight! (read previous story on Bidayuh Wedding).

Oh, I didn't mention that my babe is half Iban (Sarawak Dayak native) and Chinese? haha..So, most likely our reception will end up slightly like the Bidayuh Wedding but without the traditional dancers! I am already imagining the cultural shock my relatives going to have during sadong where the bride & groom will go to each table with liquor and serve EACH guest a shot. Oh yah, the glass is the same one from the first guest to the last. Maybe I should get my babe to skip that for the bride's relatives~ hahaha....bluekk!!!

sigh...whoever said that wedding is the union of two individuals obviously never been married before (or at least not Asian style). Marriage more like the union of TWO FAMILIES with totally different preference, background, needs and requirements.

Bidayuh Wedding

I am sick!!! Been sick since Monday and today is Wednesday and still sick. Thank God the doctor @ kotaraya had some sense to give me 2 days sick leave because I cant imagine myself sitting the office today handling all the daily work and pressure and decision making. But I guess if need to be, I can force myself to be there!! Anyway, this posting is not to tell you how sick I am but to share a wedding with you.Church blessing was on Saturday (15 Dec) @ St Joseph and the dinner reception at Merdeka Palace in the evening on the same day.

Flowers decorating the church and Merdeka Palace

Church starts at 9.30am and guess what..we arrived at 9.30am on the dot just as the the bride was walking down the altar. Kinda embarrassing but the groom's sister was rather sporting. She quietly pull the 2 of us aside and enter the church to our seats via the side aisle. The services lasted one hour as it was a full service. But it did not feel like normal traditional church wedding ceremony where it can get pretty tedious with the standing, bowing and kneeling. The Father was actually rather funny and joked alot. First time I see people laugh and actually enjoyed the ceremony. The bride & groom was of course blushing from the being teased by the Father.

When the service is over, we head right over to bak kut teh (direct translation: pork bone soup) at Pending. My babe been craving for it for the past six months and he say those in Klang does not measure up to the one at Pending. The bak kut teh here is abit less herb-ie as the spices are not so strong. But it is rather sweet because the tau keh (boss) somehow push cooked minced pork through strainer. The super fine minced pork is almost diluted into the soup making it very tasty without much preservatives.

The dinner reception @ Merdeka Palace was simple and yet grand. Simple in the sense that it gives a relaxing atmosphere but you can see that quality is not forgotten here. The reception counter was at a alcove above and overlooking the dinner hall itself. Guests register themselves and mingle with others while having their first drink. Something rather unique I think. A 'stand-up' kind of thing while waiting for other guests to arrive. Rather clever and unique.

Then all the guests are then invited to come down to the dinner hall and to the assigned tables. Our table was number 24, nearest to the bar (for the thirsty drinkers on my table) and door (for those that require 'oxygen' every few dishes). Soon after, the bride & groom enter the dining hall. And immediately after, the MC announce that there will be cultural performance by dancers from Sarawak Cultural Village to introduce our unique heritage to guests from overseas that was present.

This was immediately follow by the first dish, cold dish. The cold dish was rather dissappointing in term of taste as I expect more from Merdeka Palace but I cant fault the portion though. In fact, most of the food that night seems to have large portion. There were a total of 8 dishes including dessert, i.e. hot & sour soup, brocolli with mince chic, pineapple savoury rice, pepper lamb and so forth but I (unfortunately) forgotten all about taking pictures of the dishes once I start to have fun (guess I am still not a true blogger at heart)

The moment the dinner starts, we can see the hardworking waiter and waitresses at the bar starts to pour cans and cans of beer into jug and bringing mugs around. If this is your first Dayak wedding, please do not panic. You did not attend the wrong function.Like all Dayak wedding, a wedding will not be a wedding if the wedding did not have crates and crates of beers and top off with liquor. Normally, for Chinese dinner reception, we will never complaint that there is not enough alcoholic beverages. Instead, we remember more on the food, services and events itself. But don't be surprised to hear someone judge how good the wedding reception was by saying ' Aiyuuhhh, that wedding ah? I didn't even get tipsy'......

So, Yes, yes, yes..I admit, I drank more vodka lime than I should. It taste sooo innocent. Soooo yummy, sweet and sour but I guess it was more vodka than I know. (Luckily I have my prince charming there to take care of me, bluek!!!!).

I have NEVER been drunk in my whole life. HONEST! And judging from how I feel the day after and now being sick, I can tell you, I would never ever want to be drunk again! Luckily I was not drunk enough to go on the stage and start singing & dancing.

The last dish, dessert, was served at around 10pm. By then, most of the guests are starting to fill up with enough drinks to sink the titanic. By the way, did I mention that there is a band and singer? hhmm..guess I must have forgotten to say it at the beginning. One thing about the Dayaks, they really can sing and love singing and on top of that, absolutely love PARTYING! As you can see from the pictures, it was a really fun night!

p.s. By the way, when you are at a Dayak wedding reception, don't expect the dinner to end at 10pm like traditional chinese wedding do. This is a warning to the guests as well as caterers! hehehe..

IEM Sarawak Toastmasters Meeting (13Dec07)

Went to the IEM Sarawak Toastmasters Meeting yesterday. The meeting started @ 7.45pm and I basically had rushed all the way immediately after work yesterday. Left worked at exactly 5.30pm and rush to Hui Sing for my aerobic session. Luckily I have one of my colleague to constantly remind the time to go! The aerobic started 15 minutes late (suppose to start 6pm). Guess the instructor was caught in the jam.

We did 5min of poco-poco (an Indonesian dance+aerobic) at the end of the aerobic. I tried it for the 2nd time and not sure if the moves are correct. But I think my butt are able to sway more seductively compared to the 1st time. But still not as sexy and mouth watering (salivating) as one of our friend (SH.....) . Then rush to my colleague house at Hui Sing for bath and change (thank you didi!!!)

Rush again to town as the meeting is at one of the shoplot above the old eagle nest. (notice no dinner yet?) But I am glad I went to meeting because I met up with an old friend and also had fun! There were not much participants for the meeting that night but our enthusiasm was more than enough to represent hundreds of people! hahaha...

They have rather unique table topic as the theme was tall tale. So whoever 'volunteered' will be at the mercy of the table topic masters to start telling half truth? Being a guest at the meeting, predicatably, I was chosen to 'volunteer'. So I was mentally prepared for giving impromptu speech for 2 minutes. Had to dispute the previous speaker tall tale about how his belt gives him self-healing abilities by saying that a box of ligo raisin is the true wonder. So, my speech was: The belt dont have supernatural capability other than to hold the other speaker pants up. But Ligo raisin with secret ingredient, heals all, kills cancer cells and makes u bullet proof. hehehe! what a tall tale

At the end, we had supper (finally!!! HUNGRY!!) and reached home around 10pm.

CC Speech 6: Vocal Variety - Memorable Moments

I must say I had fun preparing and presenting my speech 6. Wish I am more motivated to prepare the draft of my speech earlier! This speech was basically prepared in half hour the day before the speech presentation itself. And the next day, I took about 10 min before the Toastmasters meeting to review and make final changes.

In this speech, basically I made use of the fact that it is almost end-of-year and people are pondering on what they have achieved in the previous years and come up with their new year resolution. However, I didn't just review the year 2007 as it is just too short and predictable to do. Hence, I delved even further into the history of my life and divide the speech into 3 segment of lifecycle, i.e. child, teenage and adulthood. As much as possible, I try to inject some humor and change my vocal variety by mimicking.

Below is the draft that I used to prepare for my speech 7 but of course, it is just an outline of what I intend to say and present but I did add on to it during the presentation as sudden moment of inspiration comes...

Finally, start with a clear mind and relax. Most importantly, have fun!

THE DRAFT

TOPIC: UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS

METHOD: NARATIVE & TIME SEQUENCE

PURPOSE: To tell audience about unforgettable moments during childhood, teenager and adulthood

OPENING

• end of year approaching
• new year resolution?
• Before that, Look back at life as passing the big 30!~
• Remembering about silly, happy, sad, exciting events in life

CONTENT

Stories:

• childhood – ghostly encounter
• love to watch ghost movies
• so scared hide behind pillows/mom/dad/anything
• now no more but I know some guys rather die than watch ghost movie
• one nite, watching till late at night
• mother warned don’t watch and go to bed – nightmares
• being a kid, just ignore and watch till the end
• get ready to bed, bed next to window
• look out of window into the jungle,
• suddenly see a light floating, getting brighter and brighter
• run like rocket to my parents room
• I was 9

• teenager – have the most 1st time experiences
• In kuching is all gals school
• Innocent, naïve, cute….
• relocated to new school in bintulu, studied for 2.5yrs
• 1st time in co-ed school
• 1st time actually see guys fighting over gal - Only seen tat in tv
• 1st time received love letter & going out on first date.
• 1st time holding a guy hand & feel his sweaty palm..ugh!
• 1st time having secret admirer (not so secret since I know who he was!)
• Many other 1st time – that I will never forget
• I was 14

• adulthood –
• when I was 21, that is the 1st time away from home for long period
• go to study in Nilai, N9
• taste of freedom
• I remember my housemate knocking at my door at 7am for our class at 8am
• she find me just about to sleep – chatting on my computer!
• And the time I will skip classes (ssshhh) and go take the ktm to KL for shopping, movie and occasionally, clubbing
• Last minute cramming for exams and looking like panda the next day
• Remembering those days really makes me smile sometimes at my silliness
• Those were the days

CLOSING

So, yah, I had a good 3 decades. Given the choice, there is nothing that I think I want to change in my past. And as the year 2008 approach, I look towards the future and know that I will create many more memories, unpleasant ones to learn from and happy ones to tell my grandchildren about.

Roti Canai

Look at this yummy crispy buttery roti canai. Just looking at it makes me wish I am not on a diet and can eat whatever and whenever I want. Alas, I can only tell myself, patience patience and project an image in my head how I will feel when I reached my goal!

In Kuching, one of the best roti canai would be @ Batu Lintang open air. The corner stall only open in the morning and usually they will finish selling everything by 10am. There seems to be something different with their dough because the roti canai kosong (empty) really taste buttery, light, fluffy and slightly crispy.

Another favorite place would be Chilli Padi near Simpang Tiga (near the EPF building). There, you will be spoiled for choice because there are so many variety. From the normal roti canai kosong or telur to the more substantial ones such as cornbeef and cheese. And the teh tarik there is pretty nice too. But be warned, wear something light or risk getting soak with sweat! Because by the time you finish eating in the airless place (not that you notice while you are eating the yummy food), you will need lots of water to replenish back what you lost!

Heroes GONE!!!

My laptop died!!!! And there goes all my Heroes download and ebooks and everything I have been saving for the last few months....
Was using it halfway and suddenly, a pop up that says do you want to save your current settings and I clicked no. Right away the whole screen went black! When I reboot the laptop, it says : DTLR file is missing. And nothing I do can bring my laptop with my precious Heroes back to me.
I think I will drown my misery in tears tonight.

Nasi Lemak

BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY!!!
How many time have you heard that? There are so many reasons that breakfast is good for you. So, my fav reason would be how it aid in weight lost because breakfast wakes our metabolism after fasting the whole night. Hence, the reason it is call break fast.

Anyway, anyone that says that breakfast is healthy most likely have not been eating like Malaysian has! Rice for breakfast???

So, from today onwards, I will discuss about food people take for breakfast. It could be something I or someone I know ate for breakfast(or might even be someone I don't even know that I peeked 'unintentionally' having his/her mouth watering breakfast).

Nasi lemak

The direct translation of nasi lemak is rice with fat. And to me that is what nasi lemak is exactly. However, I can NEVER resist the freshly cooked nasi lemak (still steaming hot) with rice cooked in fresh coconut milk, pandan leaves and seasoning.

Simplest way is to serve it with spicy sweet sambal ikan bilis (anchovy paste with chillies), roasted peanuts, boil egg, cucumber and salted fish. Occasionally, for a more 'nourishment', served also with deep fried chicken, rendang (curry beef), chicken curry or any other meaty stuff (and high cholesterol) . Basically any kind of side dish goes with nasi lemak as long as it has coconut milk, deep fried, rich or cook in curry.

Some will swear to you that no nasi lemak breakfast is complete without teh tarik, frothy tea that is made by pouring it from one cup to another.

More Pictures

Really nice pic here. Look unreal...



Claire and superboy @ the beach....
I have this pic as my wallpaper to motivate myself to lost weight! haha....










Masi Oka aka Hiro is really turning into a hero. He look so cool in this pic with Hayden aka Claire. And to think that he was actually just supporting actor when they started Heroes...

Hiro and Claire

I am absolutely addicted to Heroes. Basically downloaded the whole of season 1 and finish watching the whole series within 2 days!

Now I am 'chasing' after season 2. Have downloaded episod 1-10 so far and am waiting for episod 11. Should be out anytime this week. The plot is getting more and more exciting and unbelievable. They added a few new characters as well. And there is a big twist in the first 10 episode.

I especially like this picture here with the milk moustache! Don't Hiro look cute!!!!!

Homemade Cheesecake - no bake

This is a really simple recipe that always receive wonderful comments for its rich smooth cheesy taste. Some like it so much that they even bought 3-4 whole cake during charity sales! At one point, I was tempted to open a bakery selling cakes/pastries made of cheese and cakes. But alas, those are just only dreams to be ponder at night before sleeping.

Anyway, the recipe has been modified after years of testing (hehe). So, I am sharing them to whoever interested.

Ingredient:
Base:
200g Marie biscuit (or any digestive cookie. You can add oreo or choc chip for variety)
250g Butter

Topping
1/2kg Soften Cream Cheese (I prefer Anchor cream cheese but you can use any brand)
25ml fresh milk
1 small can of condense milk
2 teaspoon Gelatine
Boiling water

Method:
Base
1. Crush the marie biscuit to small pieces. ( I usually throw the whole thing into a plastic bag and crush using rolling pin)
2. Melt the butter
3. Mix the crushed biscuit & butter well.
4. Line the bottom a spring pan
(round or square depend to you. Also if you dont have a spring pan, just line the bottom of the pan with the clear plastic before you line it with the crushed cookies).
5. Press them to form a solid base.
6. Put in the freezer while preparing the topping

Topping
1. Cream the cheese with a mixer using medium speed.
2. Add in condensed milk and fresh milk. Mix well.
3. Mix the hot water(about 3-5 tablespoon) to gelatine and stir well.
4. Add the gelatine water mixture to the cheese mixture.
5. Mix with mixer again using medium speed.

Assembly
1. Take out the base from the freezer.
2. Gently, pour the topping over the base.
3. Leave the cake in the fridge for minimum 3 hours (best if overnight).

You can add variety to the cheesecake by adding blueberry or strawberry jam to the topping. Just pour the jam in after you pour the topping. Take a spatula or spoon and swirl the jam gentle.

Another favourite is of course oreos. Crush the oreos into big chucky pieces and mix them with either the base or toppings.

HAPPY TRYING!

1st Timer

Hi,
This is my first time as a blogger and I must admit, this is pretty easy. Just follow the instructions and then WAHLAH, here I am. Not sure what I will put into the blog yet but generally FOOD, RECIPE, FOOD, RECIPE and more FOOD! For those who knows me, CHEESECAKE RECIPE will definitely be one of the items soon since Chinese New Year is less than 2 months away!

Also planning to polish my writing skills. Been wanting to publish a romance novel for a long time but just couldn't get myself to sit down and do it. Hopefully, this will motivate me especially if there is a following of fans (hint hint!) that keep asking me 'what happen next????'

Of course, how can I forget, will be sharing interesting details of my life too whenever I can. Only fair right since most of the blogger share their passion and interest. So, this is what I intend to do too. By any chance that anyone of you fall asleep after that and get into any kind of trouble, please do not SUE me!! (YES, this is a disclaimer.)

Feel free to drop me comments or suggestions of things/topics that you want to see in my blog!

MUCKS & HUGS