Season’s Greetings!

Our Christmas tree is up and blinking away!

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeeaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ! DING DONG DING DONG!

MERRY XMAS EVERYONE & WISHING YOU A JOLLY GOOD START TO THE NEW YEAR

Immigration Puzzles

So I have to go get my restricted East-West Malaysia passport renewed, you see. Since it is relatively quiet at office, I decided to leave an hour or so earlier to the Immigration office and get that done.

The Jabatan Imigresen isn’t anywhere nearby my workplace, mind you. It is a good half an hour’s drive away, and in this scorching weather lately. Parking is also a nightmare – the building is smack in the middle of Miri old town, somehow always packed with vehicles and people all day long.

Yesterday I went after lunch, thinking that I might be able to make it at the front of the queue after 1pm. I was prepared to wait until 2pm. You know what?? The Payment Counter only opens at 2.30pm !!! I could not possibly wait that long! So fine! I thought I might go back today instead AFTER 2.30pm and prepared to wait till 5pm if I had to.

So today off I went yet again, by the time I found parking, walked across the road sweaty and red and smelly….I saw a sizeable crowd inside. Good, I thought. That means everything was up and running. It was 3.15pm. And as with any government offices, I had to take a number. What did I see?

Kaunter Nombor Tutup 3pm. Ambil esok

(Number counter closed at 3pm. Please take tomorrow)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Fuming silently, I went back to my car (my parking coupon wasted $%#@@#) and drove myself to get a manicure. At least I have neat pretty painted nails now.

If my THIRD visit doesn’t work out, you may safely assume I might be assaulting someone at the Jabatan Imigresen….

Updates:

YES! I finally got my passport done on the third visit. However, I still need to return next Monday morning to collect it. Oh well…

Dinner Tonight: Bak Kut Teh with Shallot Rice

I cook dinner almost every night now since I have developed a weird aversion to most ‘outside’ food. One can say that it is a good thing, since eating home cooking is better than eating out for an expectant mother. Well, I suppose that is the good side effect from it.

While most days I prefer simple dishes, occasionally I would catch some program on the food channel featuring some food that’s it – I HAVE TO HAVE THAT! These are usually relatively simple food as well; most of the time either I am not able to get it here (e.g. chee cheong fun Penang style, fried beehoon kosong the way a certain ah pek does it back home in Alor Setar, laksam) or I will just have to cook them myself. The most recent of such a craving – Bak Kut Teh!

So off I went on my mission to re-create that mouth watering bowl of simple peasant food featured on the Food Channel. Did you know Bak Kut Teh was first invented by the poor workers by the shipping docks in Malaya who did not have money to buy good food, so they collect herbs that fell out of the sacks that they carried daily, and boiled them with pork bones which was relatively cheaper than meat? Pure genius I must say!

Anyway, Bak Kut Teh is an easy peasy dish to cook. One is spoilt for choice of the various pre-packed Bak Kut Teh herb bag that are sold in any grocery shop or supermarket. Alternatively, just pay visit to any chinese medicine hall and request the owner to pack a bag for you.

How to cook it? Just slow boil the herbs with pork or chicken bones for at least 3 hours. The longer you boil them, the tastier the soup. I like to add pork ribs, chicken feet and a pinch of fermented beans (tau cheao) for a richer soup flavour so just a touch of salt would do at the end to complete the taste. Oh by the way, don’t forget to add a whole garlic (lightly crushed) as well.

For condiments one may also add:

Mushrooms (shitake, button or oyster)

Beancurd sheets

Meat balls

Whatever parts of the porky pig that one might like (it is best to cook the other meat parts separately and not boil them too long, they might disintegrate into the soup)

I picked up a neat trick from a local Bak Kut Teh shop, which is to serve it with shallot rice. To cook this;

Fry finely chopped shallots until lightly brown

Cook rice and when rice is boiling, add the fried shallots together with some of the oil they are fried in. The fragrant shallot oil will be infused into the rice.

Finally, season the Bak Kut Teh soup with some pepper and dark soya sauce just before serving if you like. Never boil the soup with the dark soy sauce as it will turn slightly sourish. Garnish with chinese parsley. Lip smacking goodness!

Couldn't find chinese parseley today so spring onions will do lah!

Say Bonjour! To Freshly Baked Bread

Did I not mention my  newest coolest toy in the kitchen?

Introducing my automatic breadmaker… it is so idiot proof it is unbelievable! As long as one can measure up baking ingredients and follow instructions and then use the finger to press START, you are set!

My newest toy in the kitchen!

Oh yes, if you are wondering about that dent there, it happened when I dragged this machine back  from Singapore. It actually belonged to my mum, who passed it to my brother in Singapore, who now does not use it anymore. So I had to stuff it into my luggage during my last trip there and well, it got dented. But hey…it still works fine

Anyway, once you press START and pop the lid on, about 3 to 4 hours later, you will have the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread !

First trial results - basic white bread

....which I made garlic bread with for dinner that night...simply yummy!

Of course, from time to time I would like to make things from scratch with my hands… but hey, who doesn’t love a little help from technology sometimes?

December: Reflections, Xmas Trees and Weddings!

It is a week to Christmas 2009! And I still have not yet brought down our little tree from the storage room. Okay okay… since this is the long weekend (the first of 3  in a row in Dec!) I should do it at least by tomorrow. It is time to add a little more cheer to our relatively quiet household, I think.

The holiday seasons are usually a quiet affair for us. Most of our little getaway trips are planned during off peak season so when the most people are on holidays, we would be home just lazing around enjoying days off work. No difference for this year, Christmas next week I am planning for an intimate steamboat dinner for two (oops! actually two and a half) at home. Yup I have perfected the art of cooking for two, steamboats included. Most people find it most perplexing actually… but it can be done lah!

Anyway, I am suddenly realizing that this will be our last ‘quiet’ end-of-the-year celebration. Post April next year, our lives are going to change big time! There will be extra chores added, more things to think about and not forgetting a little person to watch over, take care of and love. I cannot for the life of me yet now imagine how things are going to be, but they will be good

December as it turns out this year, is a month of weddings. I have sinced attended three in the last 2 weekends and a hen’s night for a friend on the way. How life has evolved for us! We now are attending functions as a young couple expecting our first bundle of joy! And secretly inside I love showing off my little bump and having the little munchkin kick.

Meanwhile, one of the weddings we attended recently was of my ex colleague’s son’s. In Miri, it is not uncommon that families are made up of different cultural backgrounds and this one was of a Chinese-Kelabit parentage. It was probably one of the most entertaining wedding dinners that I have ever been to! There were traditional musicians with sape playing in the background (no taped music, mind you….original punya ok…), ngajat performed by boys as young as 10 years old in full traditional warrior costume and enchanting dances from the Kayan and Kelabit ladies in brilliant beaded outfits. This is what I love about living in East Malaysia sometimes… tradition is kept alive in everyday lives – be it in weddings or just your average grandmother with her heirloom brass earring having a casual brunch in town.The church wedding blessing ceremony I went to this morning had a sape player in its band! Now that’s what I call embracing culture!

Traditional Kayan dance where the ladies plait up a few colorful strings of cloth as they move effortlessly in sequence

Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season everyone !

Tagged: My Five Senses

I have been tagged quite some time ago by Whimsical and honestly at first, I was not quite sure what to do… so after checking around other blogs, I think I pretty got it…sort of…so here goes…!

—————————————————————–

Rule # 1 I am supposed to display this tag on my blog

Rule # 2 Post the rules (which is what I am doing now)

Rule #3 Link back to the blog that tagged you (Okay…)

Rule # 4 Make a list of the 5 senses and what each one represents for me

Rule # 5 Tag 5 other blogs and let them know! (Hmm….a little tricky there…but I will try)

My 5 senses are:

Sight:  Wide open spaces with rolling green hills and swaying trees

Smell: The fresh smell of electrically charged air and the washed out world after a thunderstorm!

Taste: Simple home cooked meals

Feel  : The soft smooth cotton of the one faithful pillow I cannot sleep without!

Hear : Gurgling water

I tag:

Forbidden Fruit

Lindy

Scribblelicious

Verma

Angel

Sydney: A Beautiful Wedding, Glorious Food & Beachside dream houses

On this day a week before, I was having the most heavenly cannoli – light crispy shell and a delicate chocolate filling. Sigh… no more here. But before I write more about that, here’s a recap of our trip to Sydney last week.

After a restless 7 hours and 25 minute flight from KL, we finally landed at Sydney’s International Airport at about 9am Sydney time. I was suffering from somesort of a muscle ache on my right thigh, a peely and itchy chin from the dry cabin air and a grumbling stomach. Breakfast on the plane was a measly portion of yogurt (couldn’t take that because yogurt makes me puke) and a cold chocolate muffin (not interested). What happened to the days of nasi lemak on MAS flights???

Anyway, we had to wait for almost an hour for our luggage (I don’t know what happened…airport screwed up sending MH123 elsewhere) and then another hour or so in the customs queue. We were standing there for so long that the sniffer dogs probably got bored sniffing our bags for the goodness-knows-how-many time. At long last, we finally got out to the arrival hall close to 11am into the welcoming arms of my extended family members! It was so good to see them again. But I was STILL cranky, achy and hungry. So to cut the story short, we got home, hi hi hug hug and off to lunch we went. I had my Vietnamese pho fix No. 1 that day for lunch.

Weather during our trip started off pleasant enough, but it was cold, wet and windy during cousin May’s wedding. But Aunty’s constant prayers were answered as the weather held throughout the ceremony and only started to pour like literally 2 seconds after May and Steve were announced as Husband and Wife and walked back down the aisle. Of course, the rest of us were scampering off after them with raindrops on our heads. It was a small, intimate but beautiful wedding -held at a little function bungalow with the ceremony out in the garden. Lunch and dancing was in a beautifully decorated room, with absolutely good food.

The rest of the week in Sydney was spent wandering around the city and Sydney’s coastal suburbs. And of course, eat, eat and eat. The one thing I missed about Sydney is the food. Yes, food. Hubby and I stayed with one of my cousins who lives with her hubby in an Italian suburb. Needless to say, most of the shops sell Italian groceries, Italian magazines and of course, Italian food! We went back to the same restaurant twice because Hubby was hooked on the pizza. I was hooked on the pasta. Once I forgot that I should not take dairy on an empty stomach and had pizza and pasta for lunch (after a very light breakfast). Right on cue, it all ended up in the sink. But oh well, it was good while I was eating it

Sydney is definitely a pretty city with breathtaking coastal suburbs that will make you wish you had a few million Aussie dollars to spare to buy a house overlooking the Pacific ocean. People are generally nice (except my cousin’s Italian neighbours who just wouldn’t smile at us no matter how many times we bump into them outside … what the….) and need I say more about food? We had dim sum, Vietnamese (fix No. 2 was a day after the wedding), seafood, Italian, Spanish and Chinese. I came back a kilo heavier (which is my weight gain achievement for pregnancy week 16).

We surely missed everyone there and hopefully to return for another short holiday with a little tot in tow in the near future

Some people are lucky enough to get a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Bronte Beach - Wouldn't you want to wake up to this view every day?

Private beach, anyone?

Harry's meat pies @ Woolloomoolloo - supposedly a must-have when in Sydney, with mashed potatoes and peas on top. Sorry, too busy eating, forgot the pic

Back Safe and Sound

We survived our first plane ride since May this year. Needless to say, I was a tad nervous and not to mention quite uncomfortable all the way to Sydney. But being back where I used to be and being with the rest of the extended family soon banished all traces of fatigue (mostly) and we were eating our way through Sydney in no time!

We literally just got back, so am still a little exhausted. But to sum it all for now, it was a wonderful trip, beautiful wedding and glorious weather! More later….

Book Review: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

This is not just about dogs.

But yes, I have to admit, because there are dogs involved, I did not think twice to try to get my hands on this book. I mean, I cried bucketloads reading Marley & Me, while sunbathing in my bikini by a resort poolside – much to the curiosity of other couples on a romantic beach resort. But hey, you too would shed a tear or two (or many many more) if your favorite dog character could not walk anymore? Right? Right? RIGHT ?!

While watching a random (backdated) episode of Oprah, this book was being show-cased. Oprah raved about it. Her fans did. So did Stephen King. So I had to get it !

I shall be reading this over the weekend, and throughout my Australia break next week.  I just KNOW it is going to be a great unforgettable book!

More about the book here.

I Am Officially An Aunty!

Today sis in law safely gave birth to my niece in the wee hours of the morning. Both mummy, daddy and little cutie are doing just fine! How I wished I can be there to welcome this little new addition to the family too.

Anyway, I am now officially a ‘kor kor’ or paternal aunty in hokkien.