Lamb Tales

If only i was a more disciplined blogger

2011-11-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wish I was more disciplined in terms of blogging...

At least I'll remember what I want to say... n I won't risk getting complained by my readers...

Oh well... *sheepish grin*

Delicious Cafe

2011-07-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

Consider this my summary post for Delicious Cafe. I've been here many many times and love the array of desserts they have here. Since the first time I went there with the girls, I became a Delicious convert.

First up, my ultimate favourite, the chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream. Served warm, the chocolate brownie is rich and full of nuts which adds texture to the softness of the brownie. The taste is accentuated with vanilla ice cream and mixing of the melting ice cream and the chocolate brownie with nuts will bring any chocolate addict (or even non-chocolate believers like myself) to a state of elation. The aftertaste is bitter, which sends a lingering reminder of mmmmm-tastes-so-good-i-want-more...

Second on my Delicious-must-eat list is the apple & blackberry crumble served with ice cream. Also served warm, the crumble is crunchy on the outside with wafts of aroma from roasted oats. Inside, the combination of cooked apple, blackberry and cinnamon blends in well with the crunchy oats to create the perfect taste. (to insert photo)

Next up, there's the peach frangipane with ice cream which is the latest addition to the must-eat list. First picture is what it looks like on the shelf and second picture is what it looks like when it is served. Note: Also served warm.

And these cakes below did not quite make it to the must-eat list.

Butter cupcakes - Tasted like it has been left outside to dry for too long

Macademia - kinda too sweet

Mango - the mango smells too strong to be natural

This one looks tempting.. will try it someday

The warm beverages were alright. I liked the hot chocolate best (first picture).

Not only were the desserts DELICIOUS, this shop adds a touch of artsy too. Just check out the sugar sachets.

Edelweiss Cafe - The third go

2011-06-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here I am again. This is the second day in a row I'm at Edelweiss for dinner but I just had to have the macaroni and cheese all to myself (yes, i have a big appetite) for dinner.
(photo to be inserted)

Anibie had aglio e olio pictured below.
(photo to be inserted)

Both our dishes came with garden salad, which was crisp and fresh.

We had cold water with our food, which was free and unlimited. :)

Like I always said, a restaurant that does not charge for water is a definite go-getter which will succeed in getting my business & recommendation.

Although cranky and hungry, I managed to pass time by taking snaps of the place on my iphone and observing the two gay (i mean happy here) ang mors.
(photos to be inserted)

After food, went around to the back and took even more pictures of the place. And found out that the chef is actually ang mor!! No wonder la the food doesnt taste fusion. *Jumps around happily*
(photos to be inserted)

I think I've had enough Edelweisses for the first half of the year. I shall return!!!! (only 6 days to the 2nd half of the year)

Ecco Cafe on Chulia Street, Penang

2011-06-23T19:14:00.001-07:00

It was a random food trip that happened one day when we were scouring the nightscapes of the old Georgetown on the night of my second trip to Edelweiss.

I was full but poor Anibie was starving. We ended up in Ecco Cafe.

Many old, antique-y things were on display. They looked like they belonged somewhere in grandma's house when we were growing up.

(to insert photo)

I ordered some mint tea while Anibie had some spaghetti bolognaise.

When the mint tea was serve, I was disappointed to find a Boh tea bag stuffed into a plunger. Jeez.. they could have done better given the price was not cheap.

(to insert photo)
Then, there was a stray tea leave floating merrily in the plunger. Strange. Enough said, and the waiter changed the pot of tea for me.

(to insert photo)
Then the spaghetti bolognaise came. In simple words, it could be described as a blob of pasta set on a plate. Instead of spaghetti, it was overcooked fettucine. It's still a bunch of carbs, yes, but one would expect a cafe to know their foodstuff better.

(to insert photo)
Not so good first impression, eh? But I'll give Ecco another chance, given the good reviews about its pizza & calzone on What2seeonline.

Edelweiss Cafe - A second chance

2011-06-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

One of our colleagues were leaving us to work in her hometown and we decided to have a lovely farewell dinner with her.

After much discussion / debate among the 6 of us, it was decided that Edelweiss would be a place where she could taste something different before leaving the island.

Starving, Christine and me headed there first and found a perfect park in one of the five parking spaces near Amelie cafe. As I am on vegetarian diet since Monday and Christine was a non-pork-eater, the lady at Edelweiss very kindly pointed out a few vegetarian dishes that we could try.

When we finally made up our minds on what to order, the rest of our little party arrived and together we ordered 2 jumbo sausage sets, curry pork german sausage, bratwurst sausage, gerstensuppe, pita bread pizza and macaroni & cheese (creamy).

Mine was the pita bread pizza. It was loaded with tomato paste and vegetables and I have to say, they tasted pretty awesome. The tomato paste complemented the pizza well and the vegetables had the crispy freshness even after being cooked in the oven.

Christine's macaroni & cheese didn't look that appealing, BUT upon tasting it, we knew that Edelweiss has got it right again. There were onions, potatoes and button mushrooms which added texture to the baked pasta and the cream was not too heavy. The baked mozarella and parmesan on top formed a thin crust which releases creamy and melted cheese underneath with each mouthful was simply heavenly.

The girls who ordered the jumbo sausage set gave the same comments as we did the last time we had it. And we did not hear too many comments on the other dishes.

As I am writing this, yes I am craving for the creamy macaroni & cheese. I am so going back in the near future. The very very near future. :)

Operasi Jimat Duit

2011-06-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

Operasi Jimat Duit (OJD), translated as $aving Operation, is an operation initiated by the author of Lamb Tales in February 2011 and aptly named so by her friend, Christine.

Anybody from anywhere in the world who is employed in any industry in any position is welcomed to join / host this operation, as long as the following criteria are met:

1. You believe that you don't have enough dough.
2. You believe that you should get more dough.
3. You believe that you have to stretch your dough.

OJD may be run as a single-person attempt, or a joined attempt with friends to help each other get through the fixed period of time until cash flows are smoother. Upon joining in an OJD, you should work according to your pre-agreed budget and stick to it for the duration of the OJD. Each OJD participant may have a different budget, but have to adhere to their budgets for the duration of the OJD.

Participants are encouraged to help monitor each others spending, by going to authorised dining places, utilising coupons / vouchers and getting legit free meals / controlling & postponing unnecessary retail spending whenever possible. Participants should not attempt to get free food in any manner which may lead to an offence / breaking the law / cause chaos / cause discomfort among other patrons.

No penalties will be implemented if one breaks their own budget.

The OJD may run for any period of time each time, but usual durations range from two weeks to a month.

Disclaimer: The OJD is a well-intented attempt for those with tight budgets to better manage their cash flows and control unnecessary credit. Any participation in this operation is voluntary. The OJD should not be interpretated as a means to control or extort anyone, or as a means to gather people to go against any policies in any country.

DIY decorating project - Zen@home (Part I)

2011-06-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

My love affair with TEA has blossomed over the years. Not only has this affair brought many great friends (all of whom have distinctly different characteristics) to my life, it has taught me to relax and appreciate the little things in life.

So in love was I with tea-drinking that a corner in the house is now dedicated to the art. A bare and cold area previously is now a raised deck. Stay tuned for the progress photos.

All About Sugar & Gift

2011-06-12T23:44:00.001-07:00

Lorong Susu is a teeeeeny lane in Penang overflowing with good food. Today, however, I was disappointed.

Craving for the oh-so-delicious Lorong Susu duck rice, I joined my colleagues for lunch today. However, as we were discussing how eccentric the owner of the infamous duck rice is (he closes his stall whenever he feels like doing so), alas! This is one of the many days he decided not to work.

So, we decided to check this All About Sugar & Gift place out.

When we got in, there wasn't anyone in there. While waiting for someone to serve us, we admired the interior. The place though small, was tastefully decorated in red and black walls with murals in gold paint depicting traditional chinese ladies each strumming a musical instrument. A water feature was placed at the back of the shop, with a stairway leading upstairs (though we did not check out what lies beyond).

After some time, a bunch of youngsters armed with videocams & cameras & tripods came out from the kitchen area together with the waitress. I guess they were filming something??

We ordered two lunch sets and a kapitan chicken set among the three of us. We were given some really appetising drink (tasted like keat la sui boay - lime juice with salted plums) and a glass of water to start. By the time half of the drink was consumed, the stomach was growling. Wafts of aroma from the stir-frying (tumis) of the kapitan chicken sauce aggravated the growling stomach syndrome.

After what seemed like eternity, the first set of food was finally served. The lunch set comprised of chicken steamed with chinese wine & ginger with some vegetables on the side, rice and a small bowl of tangyuan (multicoloured glutinous rice balls). *sorry no photos - wasn't meant to be a review*

Another 7 minutes later, the second and third set of food was served. We were surprised when they took so long to serve the other two sets; especially when the kapitan chicken came last, when we smelt the cooking of the sauce first.

The food was so-so, as expected from a dessert shop. But I did expect the tangyuans to taste better, since the shop specialises in them.

Would I go back again? My verdict:

For the food - definitely no.
To give the tangyuans a second chance - yes.
To take photos of the interior - yes.

Dedicated to our dearest TKK

2011-04-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just realised that my so-called blog has a follower, aka Mr Khoo.

Thank you for your support n many apologies for not posting for so long. I know I have let u down.

So this song the band is playing at Strada this very moment (ie. Hotel California) is for u.

Hearts for u..

Jess

Feelin' So Fly on a Friday

2011-04-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yay!! It's Friday again!

Friday = good mood

Feeling good, I decided to splurge (my Operasi Jimat Duit got jinxed) on food because:

Good mood + food = Better mood

So lunch time was approaching and I was having an sudden craving for good pasta... So the obvious thing to do was to consult the Penang food bloggers for a place to makan. And the shortlisted choices were:

Amelie Cafe @ Armenian Street
Ecco Cafe @ Chulia Street

People were invited and ladidadida... We had to go in 2 cars. Since Chulia St is renown for its lack of car parks, we settled for Armenian Street.

Once we were there, we were rejoiced to find the bestest of spots (ie. 1 of the 4 parking spots right in front of Amelie Cafe). And Xtine wondered aloud whether Amelie was opened. When we got there, it wasn't.

*disappointed face*

So as fate would have it, we ended up in Edelweiss which was much blogged about for its pork belly and rustic interior. In my attempt to salvage what was left of my Operasi Jimat Duit, I went with the set lunch order (comes to about MYR23 after govt & service tax) (Note to self: Individual items on the ala carte menu costs more). It comes with a soup / salad, main (a variety), drinks (coffee, tea or ice lemon tea) and ice cream (choc / vanilla). This is what the main looks like:

And it decreased the happiness accumulated since 7.42a.m.

My main was a chicken jumbo sausage served with salad and fries. The salad was alright and the fries was a tad bit overfried (very stiff with no taste of potatoes). But the sausage....it was fried and drenched with ketchup and had curry powder to top it off. I wouldn't expect to pay MYR19.90 for something that even people with elementary knowledge in cooking can serve.

The accountant's mind went to work and it was estimated that at least 2.5 times gross profit was made.

*Looks like a cranky old woman now*

But anyway,

Good mood + food + beer = Superb mood

Ah well..... perhaps a good pint and meal after work will lighten the mood...

Back in the blogosphere

2011-03-17T03:40:00.000-07:00

After missing in action for more than 2 years, the author of Lamb Tales is back!

Many thanks to:

Ah Nien who found the URL...
Google for making it easy to reset the password.... and
My fingers that did the hard job of typing (trial and error in retrieving the login email)

Much has changed since the last post.

Gotten Australian PR & a job in Sydney
Moved to Sydney and moved back to Penang
Got a job in Penang & still here after a year
Cut my hair (from long curls to bob to pixie)
Enrolled in CPA Australia & passed 2 segments
Ah Wei (my bestie in school) got married
Adopted Simba the Westiepoo
Penang is now plastic bag free

Change happens. It may not be easy to adapt and some may even resist. But when the tidal wave of change hits, there's nothing much to be done but to accept and move on. Maybe learn to grow and be stronger.

Thank God for the beautifool day

2009-02-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

*sighs* I'm back in Hobart again after only ONE month in Penang. It was barely sufficient.

Barely had time to do anything (other than going to the beach, meeting up with old pals, buying pirated DVDs, visiting all those hawker aunties and uncles, and last but not least... having a weekend away with my parents).

And here I am again... stuck in the cold, windy weather of Tasmania. You call this summer??

*buzz: TNEHHH*

SUNGGUH TERAMAT SALAH SEKALI.

Anyway.. one week later, which is today.. the sun finally came out. Yay! Time to take out my beachy little shorts and sit around like anybody should on a nice and warm summer's day. I was in my room most of the day except for the time I went out to the kitchen to cook lunch and tea.

Whilst waiting for the water to boil during tea time, I watched TV on the super sexy LCD TV in the living area. And then, Ahoy! A middle-eastern housemate approached me.

But before you read any further, I should probably brief you on the background: I am currently living in a 34 room house with all sorts of people from different backgrounds and beliefs. Most of us get along pretty well and have done various healthy activities together - such as fishing, road trips, dinner, supper, ice-cream, Salamanca market, learning English, Arabic, Malay, Mandarin, Italian from one another etc. etc.

This seemingly pious fella said that he would prefer me to wear sleeves and pants, rather than a tank top and shorts... well you know, my standard dress code when I'm in Penang. LIKE THAT.

I was like.. "Oh, ok" and he left.

Sitting watching the Sydney Music Festival preparations, I started to feel like.. "No, this is not right.. who is this person to dictate what I can and cannot wear?"

I felt like approaching him right away... but I thought I would seek advice from our warden, Mick. Mick told me not to worry about it and proceeded to have a chat with the fella. In the end, the fella came and said, "No problem." (Trust me, THAT is his favourite word)

What I wanted to say about this incident is that, while I appreciate that we are from different cultures, there is no requirement for either of us to expect the other to conform strictly to our own culture. While I appreciate how some ladies clad themselves in cloth to steer clear from prying eyes even in the hottest weather but I am not one of them. As much as I respect your rights, I too, have my rights to do what I want, as long as it does not break the norm of the society that we are both in.

When you do feel uncomfortable (in other words, TURNED ON) when you see more leg on a girl than you are used to, probably you should reflect on your morality and ability to keep faith in God... NOT ask the girl to put on more clothes. What you are saying portrays your narrow train of thought, like those of our beloved "people representatives" in Malaysia. (Quote: "When a girl gets raped, it is the girl's problem for revealing too much." )

An Imam has once said that when faced with the devil, be faithful to Allah and you will be saved from damnation.

When your heart is pure and righteous, you will have no fear for commiting an offense against any religion. Have trust in your faith and you will have no reason to doubt your ability to maintain your morality.

Life with no classes to go to...

2008-11-26T02:47:00.000-08:00

Classes? DONE. Exams? DONE.

Ahahaha... evil laughs.. take that Ah Nien!

The very next day after exams I was back into the work force. Seriously, the Queen should give me some medal for being so hardworking. *points rightwards*

Well... maybe I don't really deserve it..... *shrugs*

...Because I took the whole of the next week off and hit the road to Canberra and Melbourne then took the Spirit of Tasmania back to Hobart.

My correspondence to Miss Karow Chin *ahem ahem* was in vain as the poor man had exams back to back the whole week I was in Canberra. He was SOOO stressed out he calls it great wall of china exams. Dinner plans initially made were cancelled...*disappointed* but fortunately.... Liang turned up and we had a pretty good Vietnamese dinner. :)

After that, Liang took me n flabby to SupaBarn to pick up some groceries for our stay in the capital city... Being jakun and having never seen a BLACK and ORANGE setup...i decided to snap a few picts... n guess what?

I GOT INTO TROUBLE WITH SECURITY.

I'll tell u why... flabby had his full face beard on.. like this *points leftwards*

...n Liang is still so skinny you'll think he's a stick insect...*points rightwards*

...n me... i look like this

Yea.. yea... we all know that when 300, kamikaze and a stick insect team up.. universal destruction is possible!!!

Well, the real reason was that... umm... rights protection..blah blah blah...umm... actually i wasn't quite sure what the security guard said because i was too busy deleting photos.. but it has something to do with copyrights and trademarks... or so i think. But how did the picture of the supermarket (see above) appear on the internet... that's the question.

More recently...

2008-09-08T04:30:00.000-07:00

I ALWAYS see this phrase on blogs and ALMOST ALWAYS get turned off by it... but what the hey, I need to use it today.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE...And seriously, when I say this, it really has been a while. So much so that my source of inspiration, Miss Lee Ah Nien who has been banished into the tropical rainforests of Perak is complaining that I have not been blogging for AGESss.

Well, just a quick update and something interesting to share.

Recently, Flabby came over to visit and gave me a whole lot of help in restoring my lappie top and recovering my Compact Flash card (what did you say? ... yea, exactly, who uses CF cards anymore?!)Well, Flabby was trying to recover the LOST pictures we took during our winter self-drive trip around Tassie.. It's a long story involving my very ancient Ixus 400, loose contact points, lousy batteries and a CF card that has 9 bad sectors... Anyway, lets get back to the original story.

We ended up recovering more than just the winter trip photos. We managed to recover the photos taken during our easter Adelaide trip. I was fascinated. Particularly when I saw these pictures.

Yes, you guessed it right. They are files with errors and the colour and positioning of the parts of the photos are totally different from the original. But I loved it!

The first one is a picture of Rundle Mall and the other one is a picture of Glenelg.

Isn't it interesting how the errors give a hint of melancholy and solitude to that in actual fact is a busy and frequented place? How things are not like it seems to be? It got me thinking how our life is shaped by every step taken, every breath drawn, every decision made. Our mistaken perception about one thing, leading to our action on another thing. Action upon action, decision upon decision and THAT, is a life lived.

And oh, please pardon my EMO-ness in this blog. I've been listening to The Platters for the past hour.

The moral of this blog is... um....*out of words* that is how Taiwanese dramas are made. One wrong step taken / mistake made.. and the storyline for the next 40 episodes are constructed.

P/S: I know.. the moral of the story is very unrelated..

No Sweets Please!

2008-05-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

My housemate loves to cook. In fact, he ~~is a self-proclaimed chef who~~ loves to experiment with new recipes. Just the other night as I came home from dinner for a chatwith two of my very close ex-housemates, my current housemate was busy whisking some white stuff (which I found out to be sugar later).

Half an hour of Jasmine + Oolong tea and catching up on OTHER ex-housemates, there was a knock on the door. My housemate brought in a tupperware of browned/caramelised sugary stuff that looked like it came from the top of a meringue pie.

In other words, BBQ-ed marshmallows. Yummy. God bless him, hallelujah.

Under normal circumstances, I would thank him profusely and give him a peck on the cheek (Yea, right). However, since high school, I have lost my sweet tooth and got addicted to saltiness and bitterness instead.

Well, I didn't try it that day (mainly because dinner was so filling) but my ex-housemates did. They each had one and that was it. When my housemate was out of earshot, they told me that they stopped liking sweet food.

Is this merely coincidence or have we chosen to tread a not-so-sweet path in life? Remember when we were kids, how we would kill and fight over the lollies and chocolates in birthday parties? How we beg and plead for a glass of cordial? And how we would scowl at those bitter traditional chinese herbs medication mum makes?

Why is it that we stop liking (or maybe just a diminished liking of) sweet stuff? As we grow up, has the harsh realities of life moulded us into the person we are today, one that prefers other tastes to sweetness? Are we merely health-concious, soul-concious (there is no such thing as bitter-free life) or have we acquired a taste for tastelessness?

Mother Nature is a Bitch (Part II)

2008-05-30T01:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I agreed with Flabby's definition of a bitch. Having spent 2.5 years under down under, that one particular law really did ring a bell about how often and how much Mother Nature (well, maybe not Her but the Greens and hippies) demands attention from us that it is starting to irk me from the insides.

Talk about lying in front of tractors that clears the forests, about camping on trees for months, about throwing acidic powder on whaling ships and their crew, about freezing their buns out in the Antarctic to observe penguins, and most importantly, let's not forget how they get doped and high before being able to come up with even more GREAT ideas to save the environment (YES, we are all aware that smoking weed adds to the CO₂ content in the air); you name it, the hippies have done it.

And the Greens Tasmania is the first green party in the world. They've done good in preserving Tasmania as a green state, but take a look at this:

Does it not remind you of this?

Also translated as:
Beware!!! We'll annoy the shit out of you!

Clearly, Gunns wasn't too happy because 20 people got arrested and sued for protesting against the pulp mill proposal in Tamar Valley. The Greens came up with an even better idea – a bumper sticker saying "I love Tassie's forests so sue me too" – apparently everybody wants to get sued now. Is it a new game I'm missing out on?

I could go on and on about my opinion on the Greens Tasmania or the Wilderness Society (otherwise known as the hippie club. ~~I was once a member of the Wilderness Society so I qualify as a hippie.. weeheee~~) but really, my point is that while I appreciate the effort of all these people putting together campaigns and rallies to protest against what they think is socially irresponsible, I would also appreciate it if it was not done excessively. I am not in favour of other people imposing their ideals on others and inviting others to act collectively on their goals. This should explain it.

This is proposterous indoctrination!! Just because ANZ is Gunn's banker, it does not automatically imply that ANZ is destroying Tassie forests. ANZ is simply doing its job as a banker, working for its client. And yes, people have a right to protest, without being told to.

My writing of this post does not mean I am an environment hater. In fact most of my peers would call me the hippie, simply because I love wearing hippie pants, and I was in the Wilderness Society for a while…and I love the sun and the rain and the apple seed.

I absolutely LOVE waking up to the sound of walnuts cracking in my backyard and the cockatoos cawing.
Close up pictures…… ~~of my 13-inch white cock_ _ _ _ (as Alex calls them)~~

And I LOVE walking along the waterfront of Derwent River.

Isn't it oh-so beautiful?

So, the bottom line is this. Yes, Mother Nature is a bitch. But being delicate, pretty and gentle (I'm not talking about ~~the PMS days~~ earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis etc.), I guess she deserves all the attention. Just like any lady who deserves an occasional French manicure, spa bath and pretty dresses (NOTE: One dress is not, correction NEVER enough). *GRINS*

Mother Nature is a Bitch (Part I)

2008-05-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

Those words stared at me jarringly as I closed the door to the deck for the night. Make no mistake, it is one of the sentences from the Murphy’s Law poster I got from the poster sale at uni. I just love the ironical (yet true) principles on the poster, like how I love Alanis Morissette lyrics.

I instantly got to thinking and debating with myself on that notion. I wanted the unbiased opinion of others, so I double clicked the next person who appeared on the MSN sign-in notification – J-Lo. Um, no.. not J-Lo Jennifer Lopez, but J-Lo the basketball STAR from Sabah. He once told me (rather sarcastically) that Sabahans live on trees and swing from tree to tree as a mode of transportation, so I reckon he’s the best person to have a say in this issue.
Read more »

Tax is Taxing

2008-05-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, for the past two days, I’ve been working relentlessly (This is the one adjective that NEVER appeared in my dictionary of life until 2008) on the weekly Tax tutorial assignments. And that, contributes to 1.5% of my total marks for the unit. There are 10 tutorials to complete, adding up to a total of 15 marks. Quite worth it, you might say.. considering that it is a form of FREE marks..as long as we put in “sufficient” (we are marked by other students, and yes, everybody’s definition of “sufficient” is different) effort and attend the tutorials.
Read more »

A dedication

2008-05-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

To

My good friend Ah Nien

The eternal optimist

... and my source of inspiration, encouragement and laughter

There is nothing better than someone who understands and appreciates your cynicism, views and laughs with you. Thank you Ah Nien, and I think you'll be the lifeline of many of the future posts. Keep the good work going, lubricate my humour and help the blog stay alive.

Readers, I promise that this is not going to be one of those emo blogs, but I also promise that it will not be emotionless and that I will try to keep it lively and bubbly. If it gets boring, write a complaint letter to Ah Nien, she's not doing her job well. If it's still interesting, COMPLIMENT me for me. :)

P/S: I know you've been waiting for the first post.