Long Beans Rice Part 1

**Non-Halal Post**


Long Beans Rice or commonly known in Cantonese as Tao Kok Farn. Just a quick post now to compare the photos taken with the Casio EX-Z750. Text will follow soon... in Part 2.

This one taken up close with flash... looked ok huh??


No flash under florescent lighting...


No flash but edited the brightness...


What do you think?? Aisay forgot to take some using the dinosaur digicam.

IMBB 17: Simmered Chicken In Black Tea

This installment of Is My Blog Burning is hosted by Clement of A La Cuisine. The theme Clement picked is tasteTea!!! FantasTEA... I've quite a number of tea related dishes that I could think of, thanks to my frequent visits to Purple Cane Tea Cultural Centre over at The Chinese Assembly Hall. This branch serves food whereby the rest of the branches either sell Chinese tea leaves or it's a tea house. Basically, all their dishes listed in their menu contained tea. We liked it there as the dishes are pork free and they are very light in nature, promoting a healthy cuisine. Might blog about this place some other time ok. I've learnt a lot about tea culture, the various types of tea leaves and the tea ceremony from the co-owner, Camelia. She's a very nice lady and always have time for a chat whenever we're there. Nowadays, I think she's based at their new HQ at Shaw Parade.

Now back to my submission... I've consulted my A Passage to Chinese Tea book (not many English books on Chinese Tea, hence, this one by Purple Cane is worth every Ringgit for a banana like me) and found the easiest recipe to recreate for this IMBB.

Simmered Chicken In Black Tea

Ingredients

One whole kampung (free range in Malay) chicken
15g black tea
2kg water
5g star anise
5g cinnamon stick
2g clove

Method

PUT all ingredients except chicken into a clay pot over medium heat. Add in 15 teaspoons of sugar and 500g of thick soya sauce and cook for about 15 minutes. As the gravy comes into a light simmer, put the whole chicken into the pot and let it simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes. Serve the chicken whole or chopped and top with gravy.

Well, this sounds like a direct translation from the chef's cookbook, more like for restaurant's measurement. Hence, I tweak and guesstimate my way thru. I've replaced whole chicken with 2 chicken thighs. I've used Puer tea leaves which is a red tea rather than black. OK will use black tea next time, no wonder it tasted different ooppss... I've simmered the chicken with whole firm or pressed bean curd. If you were to order this dish in Purple Cane, they've simmered peanuts on the side but I've omitted them. You may also thicken the gravy with some cornstarch solution before serving.

Easy recipe but if you're gonna tweak the recipe, make sure you do a trial run first before serving your guests this dish. However, if you're serving guinea pigs, I guess it's pretty ok. I've used too much tea leaves which rendered a bitter taste. I've tried saving the dish by adding salt, sugar, soya sauce and thick soya sauce to mask the bitterness which I think it was quite successfully done. My guinea pig can't detect the bitterness at all, his only comment was the bean curd has got no taste. Hmm, means I need to simmer the bean curd longer.

Also for the lovely chicks to appear nice and sexy here, I've the skin on which is not recommended as it made the gravy rather oily. So please skin your chicken. Here's how it looked like... not that sexy after all hahaha cos got bald spot on one thigh. Thanks Clement for hosting this round of IMBB.

Reminder: IMBB#17

Clement of A La Cuisine is hosting the 17th installment of Is My Blog Burning? The theme he has picked this month is tasteTea!!! The deadline is this Sunday so please remember to submit your entry to Clement by 31st July 2005.

Watch this space for my entry of a fantasTEA recipe teahehehe...

Ghee Hiang Tau Sar Pneah

**Non-halal Post**

I was back at my parents place when I saw a box with the words Ghee Hiang on it. Whoa, blow me down... the new packaging looked awesome. They have also packed and sealed their biscuits into plastic bags before placing them into the cardboard box. Very hygienic! And the best part... it even have a website of their own!!!. Cool eh?

Okay a little background on Ghee Hiang. It's a very famous biscuits (albeit just a few variety) and sesame seeds oil producer in Penang island. Originated from China's Hokkien province and established in Malaysia way back in 1856! Could you believe it?? Wow... I'm still digesting the info from their website.

I got hooked into Ghee Hiang's biscuits more than 10 years ago when the engineers from my company go to Penang for the monthly maintenance on dinosaur mainframes in one of the banks which located a stone throw away from Ghee Hiang. Usually they'll get the bank's staff to pre-order our biscuits a day in advance, otherwise, there is no way one could buy the biscuits on the spot. Yes, they are very popular. There are other brands as well ie Him Heang but seriously I find Ghee Hiang is the better of the lot.

I guess the most popular biscuits people buy from Ghee Hiang got to be the Tau Sar Pneah (Mung Bean Biscuit in Hokkien), a flaky pastry filled with mung beans. They come in two sizes, large is about 2 inches in diameter or small which is about an inch or less in diameter. These days they packed 4 small tau sar pneah or 2 large tau sar pneah in a bag.

What I liked most about Ghee Hiang's tau sar pneah is it's fillings where the mung beans are cooked in sugar, salt and fried shallots. The fried shallots lend an exquisite fragrant to the biscuits. Funny if you have noticed that the fillings have both sugar and salt. Well, somehow the saltiness and sweetness seems balanced.

Ghee Hiang still uses lard for their dough, something not very healthy but it lend an excellent texture and taste to the pastry.

Now back to the box of goodies, I found the top layer contained the small tau sar pneah whilst the bottom were a few packages of 2 bigger tau sar pneah. I was wondering what's his friend's rationale to buy the same tau sar pneah but in TWO different sizes hehehe. What the heck, I took one each home to chow them down.

I got a surprised when I chewed on the larger biscuit, hey, it's not tau sar pneah but what the heck it is??? The pastry is somewhat similar but slightly thicker and the filling have sesame seeds and is sticky and chewy... Penang style hiong pheng kar??? Check the picture below...

Anyway, I think I liked Ipoh style hiong pheng more than this. So when I checked their website, the name is Beh Teh Saw (I've no idea what's the translation since I'm not a Hokkien). Ahhh... so the sticky bit is molasses.

Looks like Ghee Hiang has their version of Low Por Pheng (wife's biscuit in Cantonese) in the name of Phong Pneah. This looked like the spiral pastry filled with pure white sugar. I've tried this before and it tasted nice as well.

Now, what I didn't know is Ghee Hiang make Hneoh Pneah as well!!!! Arrrghhh, how come I don't know leh?? This pastry has brown sugar fillings, awwww, I love this and it's hard to find nice soft ones. I've bought elsewhere where the filling is rock hard! So, should I make a trip up North huh? Hehehe... I think better not since hubby will be driving me around the island eating non-stop hahaha... no way when I have not been exercising the past few months. Must tahan (stop my temptation in Malay)... tahan... tahan... hey, the flash in the homepage mentioned that it's going to open in Kuala Lumpur soon wor... woooohooo.... but when? Hahaha... tahan...

Babe's Hokkien Fried Noodles

Hokkien fried noodles are thick noodles cooked in black and thick soya sauce. The thick noodles have alkaline as part of it's ingredient and it is also known as yellow noodles here. Usually I cook this using the non-alkaline noodles (pan meen noodles that one can easily find in the wet market or supermarket shelves). I've used udon too which tasted utmost delicious.

Here's my own version of Hokkien fried noodles.


If you're using non-alkaline noodle (aka pan meen), cook it first in a pot of boiling water with some salt and oil added to it to prevent the noodles from sticking. Cook till al-dente just like pasta. If you're using the alkaline noodle, just blanch with hot water to rid off the oil and some alkaline on them.

Traditionally, chefs use deep fried lard but for health reason, I omitted them but purist who can't live without their chu yau char (deep fried lard in Cantonese), please feel free to use them.

Fry some sliced meat (I used chicken but traditionally it's pork) and shelled prawns in hot oil till 3/4 cook. Stir in loads of chopped garlic. Add in some oyster sauce and thick soya sauce. Pour in water about enough to cover the noodles. Once boiled, taste and adjust the seasoning. Since I've used oyster sauce, I normally don't need to add in any salt. How much thick soya sauce depends on how black you want your noodles to be.

Add in the noodles and cover up. You may add in more water if you feel it's not enough but not too much though. You don't want a soupy noodle. Braised till noodles are soft or whatever texture you fancy. Stir in some choy sum and let it simmer for a short while. Dish up and serve hot.

My other pan meen based noodle can be found here.

BTW, noticed I've added in some adverts hehe... need to generate some income to buy and host my own domain one day. Still need loads of tweekings though but later. So bear with it for a while. I've also started to ping my entries in Project Petaling Street, so you guys don't need to keep on coming back to check when my blog is being updated.

Shopping Therapy...

Amidst the angst, I managed to squeeze in some time for shopping which I think to many it's the best therapy. I was off on Friday but I was disallowed to attend the funeral as it seems the Taoist's ceremony have some kind of pantang (forbiddance in Malay) over people with certain ages to attend the funeral. Well, I fell into one of the age category, moreover, I think my mother would want to attend it more and to accompany her cousin sister (my late cousin's mother) since she was not allowed to follow her child's hearse to Nirvana Memorial Park. Hence, I ended up chasing after my lil fart the whole morning in Tumble Tots.

I saw an advert on the papers that there is a fair happening at Mid Valley Megamall (MVM) over the weekend in conjunction with the Malaysian Mega Sale Carnival which started on Saturday. I got all excited... checked with a few friends included Reid for some advices.

Yes, finally I've decided get a new digicam... It's high time my dinosaur digicam take a back seat as it has been giving me intermittent problem on the connection between the lens and display.

I had Thursday night to do some research on the internet. Come Friday afternoon when my parents (they help me babysit my boiboi) came back, I dashed off to MVM. Tried as many digicams as possible ranging from Panasonic, Canon, Casio, Olympus, Sony etc. Quite a number of new models were available too. I zoomed down to a few models and got hold of photography enthusiast sifu, Kelvin, for some opinions. Wah I kena taruh (got chided in Malay) a bit cause he said so many people ask for his opinion but ended up never buy. If not mistaken I've only asked him twice before this hahaha. Check out his photo gallery.

So Kelvin, if you're reading this... I FINALLY GOT THE DIGICAM!!!! Yippeee!!!! Thanks for being patient with a photography idiot like me.

Anyway, just to be sure I went back home and did more searches in the internet at night. The next day I went to MVM again, yes, another trip as my lil cousin sister wanted to go there to check out some stuff for her assignment. So we shopped a while and then we stopped by the fair to make the final decision.

I was looking at SonyCyber-shot DSC-W7; Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7; Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8; Panasonic DMC-FZ5 and Casio EX-Z750.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W7
I was aiming at this mainly because I was using a Sony digicam all these while. When I checked the specs in the internet, everything seems superb. So many people were against this as they said the memory sticks are expensive yada, yada, yada... They forgot I've some memory sticks on hand hahaha but nevermind... I tried the DSC-T7 too but ohhhh so slim! Both failed miserabily or did I expected more?? In terms of functions and ease of use, I was really disappointed.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7
Since FX9 is coming out soon, they were promoting this model with lots of discounts and freebies. Major functions the same as FX8 except FX8 has twice the battery life.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8
Compact sized and was quite satisfied with the functions available.

Panasonic DMC-FZ5
The Panasonic promoter showed tempted me with this model. I was impressed!!! Later that night whilst chatting with hubby on YM, he was impressed too with its capabilty as compared with the rest but I reminded him that we can't compare this as this is not in the compact category. This one is worth the drools! However it is very bulky... it's not what something I was looking for.

Casio EX-Z750
I had remember my previous conversation with Kelvin, he did mentioned that Casio is getting pretty good and I read about the review of the EX-S500 model in Computimes on Thursday. So I spent some time at the Casio booth and find that EX-S500 is kinda too slim plus I got a comment from Kelvin about this model. I checked out the latest EX-Z750 too and I was impressed with the features this little thing hold.

You see, my lil cousin sister loved to be photographed, she went and ask the Casio promoter to take our photo and print out for her which he duly did so. My brother came by later to join us and kaypoh (busybody in Hokkien) around. Since he was using a Panasonic Lumix, I think he was pro Panasonic and he kept telling selling me the DMC-FX8 coupled with the cajoling by the Panasonic promoters. So I got these promoters to take our photos to be printed for comparisons.

So the final decision would depends on the photo quality... fair enough?

And finally... guess which model I got????



Casio EX-Z750 won hands down!!!! The photo looked sharper and natural. The Panasonic ones looked kinda digitised and the promoter said theirs looked more natural in colour with less yellow tinge but well say all they want! I find it's easier to use and the LCD is so HUGE! Wow I just love it as it's so clear since it's TFT. The thickness is just right when the EX-S500 is way too slim to be handled. Heh with this size, I can chuck it inside my handbag. Watch out for more reviews with photos in my blog! Did I mentioned that it's fast too... the shutter speed I mean. Great when you have babies. Super long battery life, in fact more than Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX8.

I'm still toying with this digicam and learning how to use compact digicam as my previous model has all the buttons available on it without having to get into the menu. Will start to post up photos taken with this sexy thing later on.

In the meantime, I think I'll send my dinosaur digicam to the hospital for another check-up and hope for the best. I still like to shoot with this digicam as the flexibility of the lens gave me rather good shots rather than turning the digicam in akward positions.

BTW, the shopping craze has begun and there were droves of shoppers on Saturday at MVM... wait for what?? Bring out your credit card and start swipping!

Already One Year???

Yes, Babe in the City KL is one today!!! I've planned for some things to be changed and added on to my blog for the first anniversary and it's supposed to be celebrated in some way. I even had a beautiful and colourful cake to show. Looks like now, I no longer have the mood to do anything. Maybe later... I guess...

Happy First Anniversary, baby! *muaks*

A Moment of Silence Please...

Got a terrible news last night... my cousin sister had succumbed to cancer. She's only my age... darn I'm so sad. She detected a tiny lump on her breast about 2 years ago and it was tested malignant. A masectomy was ordered and was told chemo is not needed. Last year, she found a tiny lump behind her neck, got it removed and chemo was completed late last year. As she was recovering, few weeks back the doctor scheduled a brain scan to be done and we were told to prepare for the worst. Goshhh the scan is supposed to done this coming Monday but she never made it.

My parents visited her 2 Sundays back and she seems all right. Last Sunday, her mom called mine and asked her to go over to talk my cousin sister into admitting to the hospital as she was not eating well, throwing up all the time and feeling dizzy. My mom was not successful, neither the whole family was successful.

My mom related this to me and hubby on Sunday night, I told my mom that my cousin sister had lost her will to live which hubby agreed but we never expected her to leave so soon. She left behind a devoted husband and a pair of lovely 9 years old non-identical twins (one boy, one girl) plus a bunch load of family members.

This is going to be hard on everyone of us... I still remember the good times we have during school holidays at her grandma's (my grand aunt) place. We would usually stay over there and create a whole ruckus for my grand aunt... from climbing the guava tree in front of the house, eat together, bathe together (more like playing water in the bathroom) and slept on the same bed together! Over time as we each grew and have our on life, we seldom meet up as often as we should. This got me thinking last night that all the more we should cherish our life (which I'm doing pretty well) and loved ones (this one I need to work harder) now than its too late.

I think hubby told me this before ~ each additional day in our life is a bonus given to us. Cherish it!

Quickie... Babe's Version

Go read Cyrene's post first before continue!!!

Immediately after she was done with the phone call, she paged me on YM and relate the whole thing to me. She made me laughed at my monitor aiyoh... My cubicle neighbours must have thought I've gone chi sin (crazy in Cantonese) liau. Whilst still laughing, hubby called me...

Me: *laugh* *laugh*
Hubby: Harlow, I'm done at...
Me: *laugh*
Hubby: Huh???
Me: *laugh laugh laugh*
Hubby: Woit what's happening??!!??
Me: *laugh* *laugh* *laugh* *laugh*
Hubby: *laugh* woit stop la, don't waste my money!!!
Me: *laugh* Cyrene *laugh* *laugh* just *laugh* told *laugh* *laugh* me *laugh* what happened *laugh* *laugh*
Hubby: *laugh* What she tell lah??
Me: There *laugh* the gurl who answered *laugh* *laugh* the call *laugh* *laugh* thought you were *laugh* *laugh* an European *laugh* *laugh*
(by this time my eyes were tearing and tummy started to ache)
Hubby: Wei call me back when you're done laughing!!

I updated Cyrene what happened and she was laughing too... then relate more on how his slang sounded like. Gosh more laughing. Once I got myself composed, I called him.

Me: BTW, can you tell me how you pronounce your nick just now??
Hubby: I was just using British accent ma...
Me: Faster lah, how it sounded???
Hubby: *pronounced Hook with accent* *laugh*
Me: *laugh* *laugh* *laugh* *laugh*
Hubby: Yau kwan ngor si??? (What has that gotta do with me in Cantonese)

Hahahaha aiyoh I was laughing so loud!!! I think he's in his sarky mood today... leftover from yesterday kekekeke...

Hampalang Letak Fried Rice

Hahahaha funny title eh??? Thanks to Bac Kor Kor with his trademark hampalang (Cantonese for everything) sapu (sweep in Malay) which literally translated as everything will be taken in. However my title reads Hampalang Letak (put in Malay) which means "Everything Add-In Fried Rice" a phenomena happened when you scour your fridge and see what you can whip up in a short time.

Checked my fridge, found cooked rice, left over canned fried dace and eggs... ahhhh... so can fry rice. Rummaging further, found some meat (diced it), onions (diced) and choy sum but I've used the stem only. The choy sum leaves were blanched, and drizzled with garlic oil and sauce sauce.

Assembled everything within reach, scrambled the eggs first in some oil then dished up. Flaked the fried dace then poured into the wok together with the oil and black beans. Add in the diced onions and fry till opaque. Next put in the meat which I've marinaded with some soya sauce and cornflour. Fried till cooked. Placed in the diced choy sum stem and continued to stir-fry. Place in the rice and mixed thoroughly. Seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. Be careful with your salt as the black beans could be salty. Lastly stirred in the eggs and dish up. Sprinkled some fried shallots to further enhance the fragrant fried rice.


Done, fast and easy... hampalang letak fried rice!!!!

Announcement: IMBB #17

Clement of A La Cuisine will be hosting the 17th installment of Is My Blog Burning? The theme for July 2005 is tasteTea!!!

This is sooo fantasTEA... wooohooo... my mind is running wild already! Remember to submit your entry to Clement by 31st July 2005.

Thanks Clement for hosting IMBB this round.

The photos shown here were taken back in 2003 at Bharat Plantations in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The background is the vast tea plantation in the Cameron Valley and there is a close up of the tea leaves before processing. Bharat Plantations is the 2nd largest tea producer in Malaysia after Boh Plantations. As a headstart, there are some recipes here.

Egg Sponge Cake

Check 'em out!!! These babies really bring me down memory lane... These are the unique teardrop shaped kai darn koe (egg sponge cake in Cantonese). Mom bought this from the market for my boiboi. These days they come in smaller size and they looked kinda cute. We used to eat them rather often when we were kids. Those days we don't have fanciful bakeries with all those bombastic named cakes. We have to resort to eating market bought kuih-muih or cakes for snacks or breakfast. Neither do we have the privilege to have a mom who can bake plus where she would have time as she needs to look after 3 monkeys at home!! hahaha

I remember these sponge cakes have a crumbly texture with a wonderful eggy aroma and flavour. Usually I picked those that are darker in colour hehehe as the outer layer tasted the best. The mini version doesn't fail me either... one bite... wahhh really brought me back to Nostalgia Lane! Ahhhh.... wonderful...

I purposely placed the ladle against the mosaic tiles hahaha which was very popular then back in the early 80s. My mom's kitchen still have them which is good as it seems to be coming back into fashion.

Round Up Of IMBB #16: Eggs

Phew, finally the round up is completed. View Part 1 and Part 2 of the IMBB #16: Eggs. Its really hard work especially when one have 81 entries on eggs!!! Amazing... Thanks Viv of Seattle Bon Vivant.

My entry can be found here.

Ang Koo And Wong Thong Koe

To continue with my previous post on kuih-muih, these were amongst the bag of kuih-muih daddy bought.



In the background is something called Wong Thong Koe (literally translated from Cantonese as Brown Sugar Cake) which originally available in white - Pak Thong Koe (White Sugar Cake). This cake originated from gosh I think Hong Kong or was it China?? Somebody tell me please? Somehow, it got Asianfied with the usage of brown sugar or could it be palm sugar?? These are actually steamed rice flour cakes. The texture is somewhat look like honeycomb cake, sticky and soft with a tinge of tangy taste. It's hard to find nice tasting ones these days. The one I tasted here is not too bad. I've tried searching the web for more information on this cake but I can't find much since I can't read Chinese.

The other two are Ang Koo (Red Kuih in Hokkien), yes, even though they come in myriad of colours these days, they're popularily known as Ang Koo. The fillings inside range from mung beans, red beans, coconut cooked in palm sugar, peanut and so forth. This time, no image on the fillings since I did not eat them hehehehe... One piece each of Kuih Koci and Wong Thong Koe are really too much already for me. For more delicious photos of them, check out at Shiokadelicious.

Fascinating information on Ang Koo:

Did you know that the shape of the ang koo tell the sex of the newborn baby??

Due to modernisation and the creativity of cooks, we can now indulge in ang koo shaped jelly.

The story of a Nyonya kuih seller.

Recipes can be found here and here.

Kuih Koci

Daddy bought some kuih-muih (Malay for cakes, kuih is singular whilst kuih-muih is plural) recently from a particular stall Mei Kee or something which I can't recall in Bandar Sri Damansara. Managed to capture some of it with digicam. Will showcase them here.

I usually don't fancy kuih-muih. I've no idea why is it so when they're rather delicious in nature. Weird huh?? Anyway, if you happen to see cone shaped banana leaves package, they're usually known as kuih koci. This is the modern version...



As far as my memory serves me, kuih koci's skin (made from glutinous rice flour) is white in colour, steeped in fragrant santan (Malay for coconut milk) - both smell and taste. Bound inside the skin will be grated coconut cooked in gula melaka (a type of palm sugar).

Errr the modern version's skin is green in colour which usually indicates pandan leaves extract is added in. However, many people scrimp on that as it entails a lot more work, hence they used green food colouring instead, duh!

Now, here is how it looked with the grated coconut fillings.



I find that this stall's kuih koci is not bad... santan fragrance was heavenly coupled with plump and juicy grated coconut fillings... it's really nice. The skin is not too thick (hates them thick) and the size of this kuih is kinda slightly larger too.

For those who wanna attempt in making them recipes can be found here.

UPDATED: 5:39pm

I forgot that Renee had a great write-up on kuih-muihs. Check it out here.

Far Sang Woo

Far Sang Woo (Peanut Soup or was it Porridge in Cantonese??) is one of my favourite tong shui (sweet soup in Cantonese). Nothing beats a bowl of smooth and creamy far sang woo. This far sang woo is rather tricky to make, if the peanut is not grinded fine enough it will be grainy. Should the far sang woo is not stirred and mixed properly, it will have lumps. The ratio of the liquid and ground peanut must be the right proportion too, otherwise the soup will be overly thick or too thin to be considered a woo. Some seller take the quick way and use peanut butter but that make the woo tasted slighly salty urghhhh...

Sighhh that's why I never attempt to make any. It's just too leceh (troublesome in Malay) plus I'm quite leceh to be pleased too kekekeke. So far there is only one place in Kuala Lumpur that I find the far sang woo is to die for... KTZ (Kei Tuck Zhek literally means Remember to Eat in Cantonese). Recipe is here if you so decided to make an attempt and please do let me know the result.

This bowl is the tar pau (Cantonese means take-away, a term commonly used in Malaysia) version. Hmmm... really fits my perfect version of far sang woo - creamy, smooth, not too thick nor thin, sweetness is just right.



This KTZ started off with a humble beginning in Kepong Baru. They started off by selling mostly dessert like tong shui and steamed egg custard. Slowy they expanded to sell snacks like dim sum, some Shanghainese delights ie. sticky rice rolls, steamed lotus leaf rice and so forth AND not to be missed all the lovely sago-lo (shaved ice topped with fruits and fruits puree mixed with sago pearls). Business was so good that they've no time to make the steamed egg custard anymore... bwahahaha... I want my steamed egg custard!!! *sniff*

From one hawker stall, they have now expanded to quite a number of outlets ie. Jalan Imbi; Citrus Park, OUG and SS2 in Petaling Jaya. Their latest venture a stone throw from their hawker place in Kepong Baru is a noodle outlet. I've eaten there a couple of times and the noodles are delicious. Will blog about them next time when I bring my digicam to catch some yummilicous photos. All these outlet are air-conditioned except for the main one which is still a hawker stall by the road side standard.

We have tried their air-conditioned outlets but somehow (I'm not sure if it's psychological factor or what) the food served do not taste that great. Whenever we have the sudden attack of cravings for tong shuis and snacks, we will head on to their Kepong Baru stall. It's easy for me since my parents home is nearby, about 10 minutes drive away. Maybe the additional factors of sweating it out plus the lashing of dust generated by the vehicles passing by the busy road hahaha...

Strange it may seems, a few of my foodie friends seem to agree with me. So, I'm not the lone loony woman... hahaha so I'm still ok. Promised to blog more about their food when I have the photos.

OMG Bomb Blasts in London

UPDATED 8th July 2005 20:37

Sighh so many innocent life gone... till now the count is at least 50. I do hope the authorities will catch the culprits and let justice prevail.

========================

As the clock ticked, more blasts were reported. Gosh... WTH, who is responsible? I got the news earlier at 5pm (Malaysian time) and straight check BBC website but its kinda congested.

Darn... I can't even concentrate on my work. It's 7.40pm now... I think I better head home sighhh...

At a glance from BBC:

Last Updated: Thursday, 7 July, 2005, 11:09 GMT 12:09 UK
London blasts:
At a glance

Several people have been injured after a series of explosions across
London. The BBC News website is covering events as they unfold:

1205 Prime Minister Tony Blair, at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, says there has been "a series of terrorist attacks in London... people have died and are seriously injured... It is reasonably clear this is designed and timed to coincide with the opening of the G8". He says he will return to London within hours, but that the summit will continue without him

1130 Signs on major roads into London warn: "Avoid London. Area closed. Turn on radio"

1126 The president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, blames terrorism for a "coordinated series of attacks" and "confirmed deaths"
SUSPECTED BLAST LOCATIONS
Edgware Road
King's Cross
Liverpool
Street
Russell Square
Aldgate East
Moorgate

1118 London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair tells the BBC he knows of "about six explosions", one on a bus and the others related to Underground stations. He says he believes the six affected areas are Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate, but says it is "still a confusing situation". He advises Londoners to "stay where you are - all of London's transport is currently disabled" - he refuses to confirm any fatalities

1055 A doctor tells Reuters there are at least 90 casualties at Aldgate station

1053 Home Secretary Charles Clarke makes a statement outside Downing Street about "dreadful incidents" causing "terrible injuries". He says Prime Minister Tony Blair has been informed and advises the public in London not to make unnecessary journeys

1051 A passenger on a train at Edgware Road says he saw several bodies in the wreckage. A police spokesman says two trains remained stuck in tunnels at Edgware Road

1049 Police say there are serious casualties, but no deaths are confirmed, Associated Press reports

1039 All London hospitals have been put on major incident alert, a hospital spokesman tells PA

1025 Transport union officials say they have reports of explosions on three buses, PA says

1025 PA reports two buses damaged in explosions - one in Russell Square and another in Tavistock Square. Witness, Belinda Seabrook said of the Russell Square blast: "I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air"

1025 The BBC's Andrew Marr, with the prime minister in Gleneagles, says Number 10 is "still unsure" whether the explosions are a terrorist attack
1023British Transport Police confirm an explosion on a bus in Tavistock Place

1021 Scotland Yard reports "multiple explosions" in London, the Press Association reports

1014 An eyewitness tells PA that a bus has been ripped apart in an explosion in central London

1009 Witness Christina Lawrence, who was on a train leaving Kings Cross, tells BBC News 24: "There was a loud bang in the tunnel and the train just stopped and all of a sudden it was filled with black, gassy smoke and we couldn't breathe"

1002 Scotland Yard says it is dealing with a "major incident"

0940 British Transport Police say power surge incidents have occurred on the Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square stations

0933 London Underground reports "another incident at Edgware Road" station, PA reports

0933 Passengers are told that all London Underground services are being suspended because of a power fault across the network, PA reports

0924 British Transport Police say the incident was possibly caused by a collision between two trains, a power cut or a power cable exploding. Police report "walking wounded"

0915 Press Association reports emergency services called to London's Liverpool Street Station after reports of an explosion

0849 An incident on the Metropolitan Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate is reported to British Transport Police

Un-traditional Swiss Roll?!??

This is gonna be a quick post, been bogged down with work and posting will be sporadic.

One day we were at the pasar malam (night market in Malay. Pasar malam is some sort like a flea market selling all sorts of things like food, drinks, clothings, traditional medicines etc. They are usually held weekly in a set area of a housing estate.) near my mother-in-law's home.

I need to buy something for boiboi to snack on and also for his breakfast the next day. Went checking out the food stalls and chanced upon this one that sell all sorts of breads and cakes. Gosh, it has been a while since I went to a pasar malam. The magnitude of the type of breads and cakes available is simply amazing. It's so dang hard to pick something as everything looked so delicious.

Ok finally the lady seller recommended this...



Looked kinda visually appealling yeah? Can you guess what is this other than it looked like a Swiss Roll???

Thanks to the innovative Singaporean (read FLOSSS from the famous Bread Talk), the chicken floss phenomenon hit Malaysia sometime last year. We can find every darn thing topped with chicken floss and floss of various variety too! And so this Swiss Roll has chicken floss on it!!!!

Basically the floss is sprinkle on the outer layer of the sponge cake. Roll up the sponge with the help of some whipped cream. My boiboi whacked two pieces that evening and another two the next morning. I think he likes it. To me everything was ok except the whipped cream part. The sponge cake is plain, not sweet at all, which is fine and it went well with the floss. The weird thing is the whipped cream is slightly sweet! Urrghhh... it just doesn't go well with the plain sponge cake and savoury chicken floss.

Would I buy it again??? The answer is NO. Hahahaa unless they use unsweetened whipped cream. Blehhhh...

Yet Another Anniversary

To Chen & Husband....

May your Special Day
Be a celebration!!!
Happy Anniversary to both of you!


p/s: When shall we see little tots?? kakakaka

7th Marriage Anniversary

Yes, you read it correctly, its Marriage Anniversary... hahaha... cos hubby and I registered our marriage at the Civil Registrar on this date, 7 years ago in 1998. Our wedding was held two years later in 2000. We have agreed that our anniversary should be remembered on this date instead of our wedding date sometime in September.

Fourth of July, a wonderful and easy day to remember cos it's America's Independence Day as well. Lucky for this as once hubby nearly forgotten about it as he was away in Manila for biz. He was in a meeting and suddenly someone brought up and say the next day is public holiday in US. Hubby was like huh, it's July... uh oh... die die die... it's Fourth of July!!! Come next morning, he quickly placed a call to the florist to send me some flowers hahaha... well, those were the early days. After a while, I forbade him to send me flowers to the office anymore cos it's a waste of money plus it create loads of jealousy in the office hahahahaha... The situation in my office kinda pathetic as most of the ladies never receive flowers except maybe one or two (and I'm one of them). If I happen to have flowers delivered, I noticed there will be an upsurged of traffic along my cubicle. Sighhh many KPCs (kay poh chee is busy body in Hokkien) around here hehehehe...

This year, I guess it will be no difference since hubby is already on travelling spree since last week. However, there will usually be some kind of surprises somehow. Well, it could be anything... so I just need to wait and see...



UPDATED on 6th July 2005:

Dying to know what's the surprise?? Hahaha he forgot all about it until he checked his mail at 10.30pm. He was at home and I was at my parents' home with boiboi. He made a call and wished me and laughed sheepishly "Aiyoh not too late, just kinda last minute wishes....".

Well, he spent time with another woman that evening actually, took her to Midvalley Megamall... spent time with her at PetWorld to see all the cute pets, slow stroll down to Ace Hardware to pick up some stuff before settling down at the Vietnamese restaurant for coffee and snacks!

So was I jealous or upset?
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Of course NOT, muahahaha... he spent time with the woman who gave him his life. He has been flying around a lot the past few weeks, I guess it's high time for him to spend some time with his mom.

After 7 years, anniversaries are no longer big deal anymore as long as we love each other every single day...

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary

Before I forget...



UPDATE 4th July 2005:

I just got an update that yesterday was Mr & Mrs TengTeng wedding anniversary as well!!! Whoa so many anniversaries this month hehehe...

Mr & Mrs TengTeng,

May your flame never dwindle. Happy Anniversary!!!

Mango Nectar With Malibu Sorbet

Look at this... I've got myself a couple of packets of 7D Mango Nectar. BTW, what's the difference between juice and nectar??

I was kinda surprised of the sudden influx of 7D mango products the past few months. This 7D is a famous brand of mango products in Philippines. At the moment there are some kiosks in KL selling 7D stuff ranging from sweets to dried mangoes. I saw these nectar in the supermarket and can't resist to try them out.

I quickly stored them in the fridge after I got home that night. The next day, I poured out one pack, aiyah (a local exclaimation), the consistency is kinda watery unlike the usual mango juice we get here. Took a sip and it's kinda bland. Well could be a good thing that sugar may not be added. I forgot to check the label gosh! Too excited I think. Took more sips and really no kick... then I scanned the bottle of Malibu on the shelf hahaha gosh how come I never taught of that.

Malibu® (you need to be of legal drinking age in your country to access their site and pop-up is required) is actually coconut flavored caribbean white rum. We love to mix this into our pineapple juice and orange juice. Due to it's sweetness, the liqour part of it doesn't really hit you till you gulp down a few glasses of it. It's a great liqour to peppered up ordinary fruit juice.

So there I was sipping more of the peppered version, the whether was so hot and it struck me that I should try making sorbet. I've never make any before so I took out the other pack and poured them into a container together with some Malibu. Froze it for a couple of hours. Removed and stirred it a bit with a fork. Cover and place in the freezer again. I forgot all about it until the next afternoon. Took it out and break it further with a fork. Next, I blend it with my handheld blender, woooo... so easy! I can see the texture turned from icicle into really fine ice. Once done, I took one spoonful. Whoa... nice especially after peppering with Malibu. Hubby have some even though he was coughing a little hahaha and he scolded me for making this when he's coughing. I whacked the rest of it. Really yummy and refreshing. Try it ok!