Samuel & Charis

Husband nearing 5-month pregnancy interval (Charis writes)

2011-11-28T15:53:00.002+07:00

As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Christmas carols on the Internet radio... it has always been my most favourite time of the year. This year's Christmas is also exceptionally special while we wait to open the package with the gift tag that says, "Open only when due."

Baby, do you know, you are supposed to be due on April Fool's Day? Daddy has had a whale of time thinking of weird names (read: Bozo?!) for you to mark that special day. But we know better, if you're early, you're coming out on March 17 in to commemorate "Incredible Kid Day" or if you're snug and cosy, you're coming out on April 7 to celebrate "No Housework Day" with me.

We just celebrated Thanksgiving Day with a few of our American friends over a scrumptious buffet dinner in Siam City Hotel and there was the traditional turkey and glazed ham! After our meal, Samuel and I took this funny pic to compare our bellies. He's getting there, I tell ya!

Headline: Husband & wife nearly 5 months pregnant

I know I was supposed to write a letter to Little Bean, I'll do it in the next post! :) There's just so much to say to my little son :)

The chromosomes tell it all!

2011-11-15T23:12:00.000+07:00

So recently we were given the chance to head back to Malaysia for a 1-week, then extended to a 2-week break due to the flood situation in Thailand. It was a great opportunity as we weren't meant to go back so soon. Our neighbourhood in Bangkok was spared from the floods but not so for people living in the outskirts. It would seem the waters would never go away! Please do continue to keep Thailand in your prayers.

Anyway, besides ticking food off our lists back home, we also had time to meet up with a local ob/gyn specialist. I was around 18-19 weeks then and we wanted to get our first detailed ultrasound scan. We headed out to UMSC with my sis-in-law and her 2 sons (we had to go visit my grandma after that) and met a really good doctor. You knew he was good when you had to wait 2 hours to get to him!

We've had scans before this but not one as detailed. Here, we found out that Little Bean is no more a little bean, but an almost fully-developed baby with all limbs and organs intact! That's how we came to find out about Little Bean's sex. I didn't want to appear desperate to the doctor about knowing about it so when he moved the probe around and finally said, "Ah, so now you can see the sex of the baby".

I was: What?! I cannot see a thing. Where? It was Samuel who first spotted it (I guess he would know best) and then he exclaimed happily and squeezed my hand which he was holding! I was still shocked and exclaimed "But everyone wanted a girl!". Thinking back I shouldn't have said so in case the doctor thought I was being ungrateful or something! I didn't mean what it sounded like, really!

So we are having a boy! I'd show you the amazing shot that sealed it all but maybe we should take that offline ;)

Next: A letter to Little Bean...

The journey so far... (Charis spills)

2011-11-07T15:45:00.001+07:00

... has been rather exciting. I wouldn't say it is as nerve-wrecking as a roller coaster ride, but it sure ain't a stroll in the park either!

Firstly, a decent woman can only stand so many hormonal changes! Secondly, the weighing scale has GOT to go. And lastly, a little ache and a pain here and there will see me running to the "experts" on the WWW.

Here was what I googled (please don't laugh, ok!). See answers below.

1. Will I hurt my baby if I sneezed too hard?
2. Can my baby hear the music I am hearing from the earphones?
3. Why isn't my belly button popping out?
4. Why am I showing at 4 months?

Answer 1: No, but the pain you are feeling is from uterine expansions.
Answer 2: NO.
Answer 3: Not every woman is a popper. But it certainly doesn't determine the gender of your baby!
Answer 4: Unspecified. I tell people it's because I have winter storage like bears in hibernation (and then scuttle away in a corner to sulk).

I am not worried, though. The questions first-time mummies ask in online forums can be downright amusing sometimes! Like, "Can my baby hear my thoughts?". Lol!

Can they? :-/

Next: The chromosomes tell it all...

The bun in our oven (Charis)

2011-10-21T17:22:00.001+07:00

Aside from breaking the news to your family, I think the most memorable moment is finding out firsthand that you are expecting. We didn't find that out the romantic way - I didn't pee on a stick, get the reading and wonder how to break it to my husband. I didn't have the opportunity to see how Samuel's reaction would be like, much like how he saw me reacting to his marriage proposal, now so many moons passed.

Nope, nothing like all that. We found it out, together, at the doctor's.

I knew, before our visit to the doctor's, that there was something going on. The signs and symptoms were all there. But we have been trying for awhile and since nothing has come out of it, we didn't want to put our hopes up. Plus I had psychosomatic symptoms of pregnancy before this when I thought I was when I wasn't - I didn't want to be silly. And I guess we were trying not to jinx it or something :)

That should be how it should be like - finding it out together. Holding hands when we saw Little Bean for the first time on the monitor, tears trickling down my face, thinking, "So there you are, baby. You're so, so beautiful."

Next: The journey so far...

The ultimate :-o look! (Charis shares)

2011-10-10T14:43:00.003+07:00

As promised, in this post we will share with you a video of us announcing our little creation to my parents. I've always wanted to do a video like this ever since I saw a similar "Announcing the Baby" clip on America's Funniest Home Videos. Although the beginning threatened to be a disaster, my mother's beautiful O-shaped mouth of surprise along with my dad's chuckle easily brought happy tears to my eyes. It is even more meaningful as we were not there to announce it personally, so my sister (who was the first to know of Little Bean's existence btw!) helped prepare everything, including taking and editing this video and the whole family (including newcomer baby Travis!) was there to witness this.

Thank you, Caryn! *hugs*

Next: How we found out about Little Bean

We're still alive! (Samuel, Charis + 1)

2011-10-04T17:04:00.001+07:00

What better way to revive a blog than to announce a new life? :)

Samuel and I are going to be proud parents soon and we hope you are able to share our happiness and joy in welcoming our "Little Bean", as he/she is now called. We hope to be able to share with you as much as possible on our new journey in this blog. So to all our friends out there, you are now officially "uncles" and "aunties" (if you aren't already) :)

Aunty Joanne Kek says it best to sum up the whole situation:
"Charis, you and Sammy have successfully spawned and you are now with sprog!"

The picture that accompanied the email we sent to Samuel's parents telling them about Little Bean.

Next: Video of Charis' parents receiving the good news.

Cupcake challenge - The Aftermath (Charis writes)

2011-05-12T11:34:00.000+07:00

Now I remember why it took so long to get back to the baking challenge. It was simply exhausting! I took a full day to recover from the heat and exertion. Didn't help that I smoked up the kitchen when I put chocolate chips in the microwave to melt them - a big no-no but a mandatory for a novice baker (as self-consolation). But I did it albeit slightly veering from the original plan. I baked two batches of cupcakes and if you had followed my tweets that fateful day, I mentioned that it was due to snacking and some cakes that didn't pass the QC.

For the first batch, I used Goddess of Housekeeping, Martha Stewart's recipe for One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes , a really simple recipe which has all the ingredients in one bowl. I had to substitute buttermilk and safflower oil with milk + vinegar (yes, there's vinegar inside!) and melted butter and the result was amazing! It tasted a little bit like Mum's moist chocolate cake recipe. I used this recipe for the frosting instead of buttercream frosting so it was easier to pack it up for the bake sale I was contributing the cakes to.

The second batch with the original vanilla flavor just didn't work out at all. It sunk in the middle and despite my efforts to revive it with "decorating" it just didn't stick. Here's the reason why it sunk.

So here is the picture of the cupcakes (first batch only). I still need to work on the decoration bit. Maybe the next challenge would be fondant icing!

Cupcake challenge (Charis writes)

2011-05-06T15:06:00.000+07:00

Last year for Christmas, I challenged myself to a bake-out where I baked cookies, a loaf of bread and a cake, all from scratch, and also threw in a roast chicken for good measure. This year after a 5-month hiatus, I am ready to bake again. This time, it's cupcakes.

My best memories of cupcakes were eating them with great friends in Wondermilk in Damansara Utama and of course, the baby blue with white/yellow daisies on top wedding cupcake-cake we had. You can view the pictures from the creator's blog, May, my lovely ex-neighbour :) She does an amazing job with all things cake!

So in celebration of the recently concluded royal wedding, I baked 2 dozen cupcakes with tiny pink heart sprinkles on top. But I took no pictures as they were, well, kinda ugly. I thought getting brown colouring for my buttercream frosting was a good idea but without the right piping tools, it just turned out, rather... natural-looking, if you know what I mean. So no pictures, but thank goodness they more than make up in taste. So I am taking myself up to this next cupcake challenge, a very simple vanilla cupcake recipe with either chocolate ganache or fondant for icing.

Now, who wants to join me in this quest? :D

Our first anniversary (Charis writes)

2011-04-24T23:07:00.000+07:00

Through the years, we've forgotten so many of our "firsts" so we decided for our first anniversary, it will be something we will remember. You know, it wasn't too long ago that we said our vows and I remembered thinking, with tears streaming down my face, "This is it! This is the first day of our forever!". So thanks to all of you who supported and lifted us up in prayer as we walked together this one year. The journey is still far ahead of us!

We celebrated this day a little earlier, taking full advantage of the Songkran holiday and unredeemed hotel loyalty points and had another honeymoon! We "traveled" to the Bangkok Riverside and checked-in in a hotel with a great view. Mostly it was a time of relaxation and spending time together. Even though we were still in Bangkok, it was a part where we seldom visited, so it felt like we were away anyway :)

And how are we celebrating it today? After a wonderful Easter evening service, we came home and celebrated our anniversary the Malaysian way - half a kg of Thai durians and Glee! Enjoy the pictures!

The hotel knew it was our anniversary so there were rose petals and swans!

We had a beautiful view of the Chao Phraya river.

Silhouettes in the sky (we couldn't resist the photo-opportunity!).

Then we had dinner in Khinlom Chom Sa Phan, an open-air restaurant which is also by the river with a great view of the Rama 8 bridge. Fresh seafood, a steady breeze from the river with live, light and easy music - what more can we ask for...

And in true Malaysian style - here's the skinny on the food we had!

Fruit salad with shrimps.

Salted grilled fish with lemongrass with raw vegetables.

Pineapple fried rice with deep-fried shrimps and pork floss.

The Seafood Platter - grilled.

Night view of the Rama 8 bridge.

It was the first day of Songkran. This car was "blessed" with wet powder from a few people :)

Enjoying the hotel's infinity pool which had deck chairs on water as well.

Happy Anniversary, darling :)

Master Chefs in Bangkok - Charis writes

2011-04-18T17:26:00.001+07:00

It's almost coming to a year now since I moved to Bangkok (Sam moved here a few months before me) and I can't imagine how time flew. They say time moves faster when you're having fun and that is partly true, especially when you have parents as fun as I do!

My parents came in March and stayed with us for a week. My parents couldn't believe we've been cooking rice in a small microwaveable pot for 2 and so they got us a wonderful rice cooker that has baking, steaming and slow cooking functions. Never will anyone say my daughter can only cook rice for 2, they said. I have not tried all the functions yet, but the idea of baking in it is just awesome!

Needless to say, Sam and I were pretty spoilt with home-cooked food as long as Mummy was around. But nothing beats the final showdown, where the dynamic duo prepared dinner for our final meal together. Dad created the largest "bonfire" ever seen in that kitchen, not unlike those fires you see from the uncle at the "Tai Chau" restaurant. Here are some stolen shots of the moment.

Mum doing her thing. See how fast she moves, it's a blur!

Master Chefs in action.

Proudly showing their achievement - a 6-course Chinese dinner!

Thanks Mum and Dad, we love you!

A year of marriage

2011-04-14T21:20:00.000+07:00

Wow, a year of marriage. Felt the year past by real quick. Exciting times.

Sam

The food I miss (Sam speaks)

2011-02-13T15:43:00.001+07:00

It's been 6 months since we last went back to Malaysia. I miss real food.

28 things (Sam speaks)

2011-01-25T23:29:00.002+07:00

(found this via google)

I've turned 28. Most people ask how did I celebrated my birthday and I really didn't know how to answer. I enjoyed just being around people and having a cake (ok it was like 2 in the office then 4 mini cakes with Charis and friends). Anyway, I'm not one who celebrates with big parties but it was nice to know that so many wished on facebook. Gives you that nice tingly feeling that you're remembered

I enjoyed that one day but I'll rather say that I enjoyed celebrating everyday for 28 years.

I don't really remember everything but here's a snapshot off the milestones for the year-

1. The biggest highlight I must say was getting married (to a girl whom I met 10 years ago that became my bestest friend)! There are more pictures of our wedding on facebook so just look that up. It also started this blog.

Everything before this was a blur preparing for the wedding, flying in and out of Malaysia.

2. Then came our trip to Phuket in which I got my first "saman" in Thailand since moving here.

3. Charis then moves in to our first home as a family. This is when the place was turned from a bachelor pad to a family house.

(no pictures cause I don't remember what my bachelor pad used to look like :))

4. Picked up my guitar again and started playing in church. Feels good

5. Celebrated another milestone year working at P&G. Oh yeah!

(Yup, Old Spice is a P&G brand)

6. Sat on a plane for 22 hours. And back.

7. First time in USA. (Notice my gloves that doesn't match with anything that I'm wearing. Rookie winter mistake)

8. Saw snow for the first time. Can't see my gloves.

9. New Years countdown NYC Times Square. (From really far far away)

Of course there are many more milestones but who's really counting. Just counting these blessings are sufficient to be grateful for.

Ok, time to sleep.

A Gastronomic Adventure in the USA (Sam & Charis Speaks)

2011-01-19T22:58:00.027+07:00

Charis: Sam and I recently went on a vacation to the US to witness Simon's (Sam's brother) graduation ceremony. When that opportunity came up, we thought we'd turn it into a mini holiday! As always, thanks to my hubby, our holidays are always infused with food and the search for good food.

Samuel: "Here's the 101 things we need to eat while we're in US. Number 1: The Crab Pot, as featured on Man vs Food. Number 2: Clam Chowder as featured in...." and the list goes on ...

Charis: Our first stop was Seattle, a pre-planned 22-hour layover before arriving in our destination in LAX. Alas, we didn't plan our sleeping well and ended up very jetlagged. Seattle's wet and cold weather welcomed us as we took a train downtown to the famed Pike Place Market.

Samuel: "Touchdown! Let's check in and get out! There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat". 15mins later after checking in ...ZzzzZzzz. Joking, we did go out (eventually) heading to the cold wet Seattle downtown straight to Pike's place. The interesting thing when we got our tickets for the train, it was purely based on trust. There were no one checking on any gates at the station to insert any tickets to pass. They assumed all will buy a ticket. (Culture shock #1!)

Charis: We had our first hot meal after getting off the train in Etta's where I had their grilled Salmon and Samuel got something common like Chicken Chop or Fish & Chips or something (hence no picture). We had wanted to see the activity going on in the market (we heard fishes were thrown at you) but we were just too late for that after taking a "short nap" at the hotel.

Charis: The next day we flew to LA, where the bright Californian sun and blue skies greeted us. It was so warm I actually felt like I was getting a tan! Here, we met up with friends, Ps Daniel and Molly Shiao, whom I met the last time my family came to California. Molly took us up from the airport and took us to... well, I'll let Samuel tell you this part!

Samuel: "I just need to sleeeeeep. So sleeeeepy. How to keep awake"

Charis: We're going to In-N-Out.

Samuel: "I'm awake". And so there we head over to had my first In-N-Out burger and it was...soooo yummy! The buns were soft as though just baked, lettuces and onions were so fresh and springy, a touch of ketchup and the patty, oh the meat, freshly grounded with the right portions of lean meat and fats to make it oh so juicy, pounded to the perfect thickness then grilled to perfection. The sizzle alone makes your mouth water. We got our orders then came the moment of truth - The first bite. The start of a beautiful relationship. The second bite. The meat gently melts in your mouth. The third bite..

Charis: And so! Before Samuel forgets that he's a married man...The next day, still very much feeling the effects of jetlag, we decided to stay around the city and go on a hop-on, hop-off tour of Los Angeles. We took the trail that would bring us around Hollywood and the exclusive neighbourhood of Beverly Hills. I was on the look-out for celebrities but despite the tour guide on the bus saying this place or that place was a favourite hangout of this and that celebrity, we saw none. Then we stopped in the Farmer's Market at The Grove where we had our first celebrity spotting - Mario Lopez!

Samuel: With In-N-Out checked off the list, we moved on to other items. Next stop, the legendary Pink's Hot Dogs. The only reason why I wanted to go was because it was featured several times on some celebrity TV that it's one of their favorite cheap places to grab a quick bite so we gave it a try. We queued for about 15mins (which was pretty fast considering the usual long line) then I ordered the most manly hot dog on the menu: The Martha Stewart :) which despite having a name like that was loaded with everything good that deserves to be eaten on a hot dog. Charis had a Chili Dog.

Charis: After 3 days in LA, we took a Chinatown bus (an experience by itself!) to Las Vegas for a short visit and of course, another gastronomic adventure! Not only is Las Vegas famed for its casinos and "what happens in Las Vegas..."'s, she is also known for its fabulous buffet spreads! It took us awhile to choose one, but seeing that the prices certainly match the reviews, we decided on the beautiful Bellagio which is famous for its giant crab legs, meats and general buffet spread. It was getting chilly by then, so it was great to fill ourselves with some fuel. At one point, Samuel had 5 different types of cuts of meat on his plate - things I have ceased to wonder at now... :D

Samuel: We were there during the grand opening of the new casino and hotel, Cosmopolitan - the same place Jay Z and Beyonce had their super extravagant New Year's eve party. It was super packed with people but we managed to take a brief peek at their 3 storey crystal chandelier.

Charis: And finally we come to the day which started it all. We met up with my in-laws and Simon in College Station, about 2 hours drive from Houston. The yellow sash-like cloth he's wearing in the picture above meant that he graduated summa cum laude in Electrical Engineering. Way to go, Simon! Take it for the rest of the engineers in the family (we found out later that Sam's Dad, Samuel and I all hold engineering degrees). Simon played host and took us several places to eat but the most notable ones were Layne's Chicken Fingers and the juicy Texas BBQ ribs which we had in a little graduation party with Simon's friends. Amazing!

Samuel: Everything in Texas is HUGE in portions. Ribs. Steaks. Pizza. Burritos. But the best part about Texas was the HUGE heart. The people here are friendly beyond friendly. They'll go the extra two miles to make you feel welcomed. (Culture shock #2)

Charis: Then the family went on a mini vacation to the historical city of San Antonio, famous for being the place where Davy Crockett died in the Battle of the Alamo. As a start of our visit to the city, Simon took us to J.Alexander's, which we are told to be famous for their macaroni & cheese. Samuel and I shared a 32.oz sirloin steak which meant a 16.oz for me! Needless to say, I couldn't finish my share. But the dessert, aptly named the "Very Best Chocolate Cake", was one of the best I've ever tasted!

Samuel: Driving on the right side of the road is something that needs getting used to. (Culture shock #3). Ok, more on the chocolate cake and ice cream (one scoop is the size of my fist!). Rich, hot fudge, cool creamy ice cream tops of a wonderful start in San Antonio. It did helped that we stopped by one of those premium outlets just before dinner this that helped built up our appetite.

Charis: The following day we met up with a missionary couple serving in San Antonio and they brought us to a true Mexican Taco house and the boys were really excited!

Samuel: Uncle George and Aunt Pam gave us the full San Antonio Mexican experience from food to culture to history. Amazing. It's good to know people around the world. Patty's taco house has by far the best Tex-Mex food I've ever eaten. The service was great, the drinks were great, the people in the restaurant were friendly, and the food, oh the food. No words to describe the emotions my tongue and tummy felt (That's right, they have emotions too.)

Charis: Even after all that, our wonderful hosts brought us to a really beautiful Mexican bakery near the Riverwalk named Mi Tierra Bakery. Once you're in, you''ll be taken in by their decoration with mock & colourful piñata filling the entire ceiling and waitresses dressed in colourful costumes. The spread on display was also simply breath-taking and it took us awhile but we finally decided on a few sweet lovelies. I found out from their website that we got a Ricardo, Pecan Praline and a Dulce de Calabaza. Definitely a place to visit again and again.

Samuel: Over here Nacho Libre is a hero, for some weird reason. They sell those masks everywhere here. I was tempted to get one then I realized, it'll never look as cool when a Chinese wears those costumes.

Charis: After a short rest, a laser show and a leisurely walk on the lovely Riverwalk, we stopped by Saltgrass Steak House for an original Texan steak! I had a 12 oz. New York Strip and yes I could finish it by this time! The environment was very cozy and suitable for hungry families hoping to eat big steaks. After that, a nice transition to a stroll by the Riverwalk towards the Alamo for a night view of the historical building. It was truly a memorable night :)

Samuel: Oh yeah, you can't leave Texas without enjoying real BBQ Steaks!

Samuel: One of the experience that we needed to have was celebrating Christmas in the US, the real traditional way. This was one of the experiences we will never forget. The Santini's (who've been like a family to our family in College Station) gave us the experience of a lifetime for us Asian folks. We've never had a Christmas celebration this elaborate and heartwarming. I'll let Charis talk more about it.

Charis: Once we arrived in Texas, we felt ourselves welcomed into a community of warm friends with ready smiles and "honey's", "sweeties" and "howdies". It was really a vast difference compared to places we've been before this and later, New York. Like Samuel said, the Santini's were one of the families that took us in and made our stay very comfortable.

Christmas Eve was a big and annual event in their house and it was always celebrated with other friends and family. We felt as if we were part of the family when they allowed us to help out with the decoration and the setting up of the place. The food was great and we had gumbo for the first time after hearing about it in "The Frog Princess". The turkey Robert (eldest son of the Santini's) marinated and later deep-fried was simply perfect! We had an impromptu caroling session after and despite singing in the cold, it was great fun just packing into the vans and driving to houses to sing. Truly an experience to remember :)

Samuel: Next stop, the Big Apple! We flew in Christmas day (a day just before the snow blizzard struck the city with 16 inches of snow!) to a freezing cold New York City. The first thing we noticed, the people here aren't really that friendly and they're always in a rush - feels a lot like home (Charis: except we're friendlier). Anyway, after relaxing for the past two weeks, we decided to go all out in NYC. Many more items on the checklist to eat and do.

Charis: New York was just what we expected, always in a hurry, fast-paced and because of the winter season, the day passed by real quickly too. We trudged through snow & sludge, got delayed in the subway, walked endlessly finding for good food in the city. While we had hoped to see some snow, we hadn't expected it to slow us down. And it did slow us down a lot!

So first stop was the pizzas. And where else to get it than in Little Italy and in

Lombardi's, allegedly the first pizzeria in NYC! They had a cute little sign out front saying "Yes, we're open! Not even the snow can stop us!" and with that kind of spirit how could we not order a Large pizza with 5 different toppings on top?! It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

Charis: Another place that was recommended by our handy travel app was Pete's Tavern, famous for being a popular place for stars to have a nightcap after a movie premier or a shooting. But most of all, it's popular for being one of the oldest bars in NY and purportedly the place where O. Henry wrote The Gift of the Magi. Even the street it's on is called O. Henry's way. What a bit of history! :) (To be honest, I've not heard of this author and his book but the waiter said that it's a really popular book and they read it in school).

After that, the brothers had their usual fill from Five Guys and I had a $2 hot dog by the street, just for kicks. It's good if you're an Asian buying a hot dog in NYC, because right after I bought mine I heard the hot dog guy sell it for $2.50 to an American. Didn't know they have farang prices in the US too! :D

Almost towards the last day of our visit, we had an American-sized Malaysian breakfast together with my cousin and his wife. Sam & I hadn't realized that we hadn't eaten Malaysian food 3 months and Simon even longer than that! We had 4 different dishes between the 3 of us, it's crazy we didn't gain any weight when we came back. I know, 'coz I had us weighed and had it written down before! :)

Samuel: Of course, our entire journey there wasn't just solely about food. We had a lot of other experiences as well but that's for another post.

Charis: So check back soon! :)

I love Sundays (Charis speaks)

2011-01-09T11:52:00.000+07:00

I love Sundays. Sundays are when you and I wake up late in the mornings and we stay in to talk. Spending lazy hours together, only ending when your stomach starts to groan. But today we were up early and you suggested we hit the gym. I was lazy, but I compromised and suggested the park nearby; at least I could feign an asthma attack, nausea, bad knees or all three and sit on a bench watching the yoga lady while you sweat it out.

I love Sundays. Sundays are when I take a back seat from cooking and you try out your hand at breakfast. I'll pry from the corner and shout out instructions, and you'll wave me away and say go bathe. We both know you don't have a system when you cook, but at least there is method to your madness. The food is good and ample, and we are satiated for half the day. Yes, I'll clean up after you.

I love Sundays. I enjoy reading my favourite crime novel and have a long bath, and I know somewhere in the smoky, windowless kitchen you are working up a storm. I spy on you, seeing you sweat in that oven of a kitchen. And when you bring out the food with that boyish grin, a warm glow sets over me, especially when you're wearing my girly mittens.

Yes, I love Sundays with you :)

A story of a woman and her oven (Charis bakes!)

2010-12-10T16:07:00.001+07:00

Maybe it was lack of excitement. Maybe it was Julie and Julia. Or maybe it's just because I can! I really do not know what drove me to go on a baking spree this Nov/Dec now that I'm done with the baking. I first mentioned about it on my Facebook Page for my shop to draw a little bit of traffic. I completed my last recipe for the year ~~yesterday~~ two days ago (Update: this post took me two days to complete) and boy has it been a ride! Here are some snippets of the quest written in the form of a journal. If you love how it looks and would like to try it on your own, the links for the recipes are at the end of this post! Enjoy!

Nov 20 - A few days ago I just told everyone I was going "to attempt to try out some of the recipes I receive daily in my inbox: desserts, breads, cookies, cakes - I'm going to try them all!". I haven't started on anything yet - I really need to get the ingredients soon. What on earth is a water bath? Hubs just said he wanted to eat French toasts tomorrow but we just ran out of bread. Lightbulb moment: Why not bake my own bread from scratch?

Recipe - check. Ingredients - check. A mixer I barely know how to use - check.

I think part of the joy of baking is watching it change.
It still amazes me how it can rise to double its size.

Ahh... you can just smell it now :)

Note to self: Always remember to look at back at the recipe again and again.
The beaten eggs that were left forgotten on the side so we had a dry and crispy crust.

And voila! It tasted really good with butter :)

Nov 28 - More than a week has passed since my last baking and still no sign of baking the recipe I so boldly put up. Went out to get a 12-inch round baking tray for the "water bath" but came back with yet another 9-inch tray. I really should get my inches right! Meanwhile, I got a lovely choc chip cookie recipe on my inbox. Gotta try 'em!

Was thinking all my artsy fartsy shots only to realize (yet again!) I forgot to insert the memory card. So we fast forward to hubs helping out to stir in the chocolate chips.

This is actually the 2nd batch of cookies. We got smarter the 2nd time round and put the cookie dough further apart. Who knew they would expand so much and stick to their neighbours?

We had 4 trays of cookies in all so hubs brought some to the office. There has been talk if I could join in as one of the 4pm tea ladies for their office. Hmm...

Probably the worst part about baking is the washing up until someone
invents a flour/dough-free spray.

Dec 05 - I now have all the ingredients ready (thanks to a visit to Chinatown) but no occasion to bake it for. Who would've thought that besides a water bath it needs to be chilled overnight? So anw, we invited our friend Yumi for dinner again and this time she cooked and I played sous chef. So I thought, hey, let's bake an apple pie for dessert!

I was going to make the pie crust from scratch and I thought I'd know how since I've done it before. But two tries later and still I wasn't getting the right result so some damage control was needed.

Because I couldn't get the crust right, it turned out flaky and not soft, almost
like eating an English scone. Nevertheless, the recipe for the filling was great
(minus the nutmeg) so it turned out OK anw. Oh, I didn't have a pie dish either :D

A close-up of how it looked like. I used green apples for this as
I didn't like it to be too sweet.

Here's how it looks like all prepped up for hubs. He likes it with his
ice cream and chocolate syrup. Certainly not something you can eat everyday.

Nov 07 - I bought a whole chicken last week thinking that I could try using the rotisserie rack on our oven. Nope, I don't even know if that thing still works but I'm gonna try it. It must be an easy recipe so I won't be overwhelmed the first time. Now, how do I get the chicken to stay in one place?

The chicken had been marinated overnight with the spices called for
in the recipe using a ziplock bag. It really takes in the flavour that way.

The answer to my question above. An article online says to use a
lemon/onion in the hollow of the chicken so that it would stay in one place.
Can't look a chicken in the same way ever again.

After almost an hour in the oven. I should get some of those strings to
tie the chicken's feet and wings. It was "flailing" inside as it was
turning and it was not a good sight.

There's the onion.

And here's the final result. It looked good on the outside until I
started to carve through. It wasn't fully cooked inside! I should invest in one of these.

Dec 07 - I must be crazy, going on the last recipe on the same day I just did the chicken. Maybe that's why I fell sick the next day, what with all the heat from the oven. So finally I come to the recipe that started it all off. And I had to try my best since I plan to share it with our Bible Study group.

Presenting: the Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake.

The starting wasn't too bad... until the gas ran out. Then I had to melt
the chocolate in the microwave which I think might have
caused those bubbles on the surface.

Preparing a "water bath" for the cake.
This is my first time doing something like this!

After baking for about 45 mins, you can see that it has set in nicely .
I couldn't wait to taste it the next day. Left to chill overnight in the fridge.

The next day, melted some milk choc chips with heavy cream to make the
ganache for the cake. Love how it just spreads so nicely and so shiny!

My last recipe for the year. Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake.
Dark chocolate for the bottom, milk chocolate for the ganache
and shredded white chocolate for the topping.

To conclude this long and hot journey, it was certainly no mean feat to go on a baking spree. Learnt a lot about baking in general. What I do know that this won't be the last you'll hear of the woman and her oven. So, watch this space for the next one ;)

All baking recipes above were done using recipes from allrecipes.com.

1) Mama D's Italian Bread

2) Anna's Chocolate Chip Cookies

3) Perfect Apple Pie

4) Peri Peri African Chicken

5) Ghirardelli(R) Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake

Where's the miracle (Sam speaks)

2010-11-30T23:31:00.004+07:00

A guy wanders the world in search for a miracle. He shouts out loud! "Show me a miracle".
He then realizes it when he sees another person without hands and feet that he is a miracle.

Look at your hands, your feet, your nose, your feet, your hair. Perfectly and wonderfully made.

Be grateful for who you are.

Here in Bangkok, beggers and homeless are aplenty. What can one do to be the miracle to them.

A thought a day. Inspired by the likes of Tony Melendez and Nic Vujicic.
Good night.

New place, new discoveries (Charis tweetblogs)

2010-11-29T23:14:00.000+07:00

Finally! After a month in this new place, we have settled down. No more unpacking, cleaning and bumping into furniture!

As we speak, Sam is going off movies for a week. Running bet is that he'll last only 0.5 hrs, 24 hrs and 3 days. 3 hours and counting.

My nephew is starting to speak. He can sing the "Rain, go away" song and recite the alphabet almost perfectly. I miss him so much! :)

Sales have not been as gd as I had expected on my on9 shop. 2 cut the blues, I baked us sum choc chip cookies & sent sum 2 Sam's colleagues.

#Bangkok weather is quite tolerable of late. Can't say the same for our building. Consistent water cuts and noisy construction nearby.

My wishlist for this #Christmas is a sewing machine, an electric piano and something nice. I am, after all, a very simple girl.

Sad that we won't be home for #Christmas this year, but looking forward to a great year-end vacation anw :)

Moving Day (in pictures)

2010-11-23T11:58:00.000+07:00

I still remember the day we went house-hunting for our first house in Bangkok - back when Sam was preparing to move to Bangkok. This place stood out among them all, not only because of the price, but because it had a closed kitchen. And you know how important that is with Chinese cooking! Here are some pictures of times in the condo and our eventual moving day. Great times, they were! :)

Great place for singing out loud - we had almost the whole floor to ourselves (paparazzi moment).

Both of us in our usual spot watching the tv.

Receiving our first house guest, Mel, and playing Scrabbles together.

Our first dinner guest, Yumi, and a home-cooked meal!

The packing begins!

It's amazing how much you can accumulate in a year!

I was box lady for a couple of days, trying to get Carrefour to part with their boxes. So we've got grape biscuits, Comfort and Carrefour giant boxes, it was a nightmare getting rid of them.

It took us two cab trips (filled to the brim) and a pickup truck making 2 rounds to get all of our stuffs over.

Some before and after pictures:

Once everything was out of the house, it hit me how much I was going to miss this place :) It was, after all, our first home together. Nevertheless, we'll be expecting to have as much fun in our new place, as the following posts would testify. Stay tuned!

Finally taking a breather after a hard day's work.

Our first guest! (Charis writes)

2010-11-14T23:15:00.001+07:00

I've been meaning to get our Moving Day pics up but it has been sitting in Draft mode for quite awhile now. Blame the perfectionist in me when it comes to pictures and story-telling. Anw, just to whet your appetite a little, I'm just going to go ahead and skip to posting the picture of our first guest in our new place! Joanne, you were a great guest and thanks for warming up the room with your presence ;) Saw your "thank you" note on the fridge - what a pleasant surprise! :D

Joanne and I posing in front of our book shelf. On the left you can see the
guest room and oops! the laundry too :D

Will get the other pics up soon, I promise! :)

The Touch of the Master's Hand

2010-11-12T15:08:00.000+07:00

How many of us have ever felt old or worn out, or worse, useless? So many times we turn away from people, things, ideas just because of who/what we think we are (or who/what others perceive us to be). Let this story help you know your worth under the Master's hand. You are priceless.

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar, a dollar," then two! Only two?

"Two dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

"Going for three..." But no,

From the room, far back, a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

"Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

"Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;

"And going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand

"What changed its worth?"

Swift came the reply:

"The touch of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A "mess of potage," a glass of wine;

A game - and he travels on.

He is "going" once, and "going" twice,

He's "going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the Master's hand.

by Myra B. Welch (taken from Chicken Soup for the Soul)

Topsy Turvy! (Charis updates)

2010-10-21T22:03:00.000+07:00

It's always a treat to have breakfast during dinner. It ranks up there somewhere with ice-cream for dinner (which Sam said he has done before, like what?!) and juicy bacon for breakfast. Our delicious dinner tonight was just that, egg sandwiches with sausage and cheese. And the noble cause for this topsy turvy-ness was to simply finish all food in the fridge! We're busy packing up to move to a new place (yes! we found a place, more on that later) next week and you would think said persons would've remembered not to buy a new carton of eggs, right! But bought 'em I did and now we have to finish them all. 4 down - 6 more to go.

Our dinner - egg and sausage sandwich

That's what I've been doing these past few weeks. When my parents were here about 3 weeks back, we visited a seafood market down south of Bangkok (yep, another post!) and I stocked up on lots and lots of fishes. So I've cooked deep-fried fish, steamed fish, sweet and sour fish and really, I've ran out of other fishy ideas! It must be homesickness because suddenly I thought of "yue tao mai fan" - fish head meehoon, one of my favourite dishes to eat during rainy days. So, voila here it is! Not as hard as it looks really! Try it!

Fish head meehoon - the fish is totally wrong but it made a yummy dish anw!

Now is to figure out what am I going to do with the rest of the food in the fridge. What can I cook with 6 eggs, 4 sausages, Ramly burgers, frozen crisscut fries, 2 salted fishes, 2 fishes, pickled green mustard and lots of chicken breasts cuts? Kinda wished I didn't pay so much attention to Housekeeping 101 - Keep a Well-stocked Fridge.

Living the dream (Sam speaks)

2010-10-04T19:22:00.004+07:00

I finally write after much persistence from the wife, the man gives in to write something. Not sure if it'll be something that she wants though so here goes :)

At times like this, I wish I wasn't working at P&G. Why? Here's the background, we've been working on something super exciting for the past few months and we're bringing this to you. If I got an opportunity this like 10 years ago, I'll be go nuts by now and will be obsessed with it for awhile. It could lead to me playing in the big leagues, earning big bucks :)

I've always wanted to know what it feels like to be playing football professionally. It indeed was a super fun game, especially during the days when you weigh a lot less and had tons of energy to burn.

Ok, so putting selfish ambition aside, we're bringing this dream now to the younger generations of today.

How does this sound: Get trained in a professional football academy in England where legends are made by a professional English Football coach, free tickets to watch one of the greatest games in England, all expenses paid worth RM193,600! Crazy right.

Presenting: "Live your Football Dream" by Gillette and Head & Shoulders.

And you know what's the best part? It's going to be super fun and easy to join. I remember we did this video for iBridge camp about 2 years ago and we took this shot in less than an hour (i think) - just the football scene.

Those were good times :)

Anyway, here's your turn. Have a go at it (since I can't due to legal implications hence the "how I wish I didn't work for P&G" part :))

Even if you don't win the Grand Prize, the 2nd and 3rd are pretty awesome as well. Go for it!

Click on to www.liveyourfootballdream.com to know more and kick start it.

Help me spread the word to whoever would love this.

Joash, you should go for this!

We are back! (Charis appreciates Sam to do the next update)

2010-09-13T17:13:00.002+07:00

Hey, we're back! I've been "appreciating"* Sam to get our blog updated for the past few weeks but without much success. So, I guess I'll have to do the honours again for this post :)

When in Chiang Mai...

It has been our collective desire to visit pretty much the whole of Thailand whilst we are still here and last month, we managed to cross Chiang Mai off the list (although I would very much want to go there again - back on list!). Unlike Phuket, where we went for our honeymoon, Chiang Mai has activities for the whole family. It has this old-city charm appeal (which reminded me a bit of Hanoi, Vietnam), very laidback, relaxing... lots of history and friendly people. Just like most of Thailand outside of Bangkok, it is not expensive to travel around and you will not have lack of places to go. Some of our pictures are on Facebook but if you're thinking of travelling to Chiang Mai, here are some pre-requisites you'll have to acquire.

There are 2 things in Chiang Mai locals say you have to try if you want to fully "taste" Chiang Mai. That is, to go up Doi Suthep (Doi in Thai means mountain) and to try their Khao Soi. My language teacher, Khun Ake, first introduced that to me and after checking on the WWW, I found out that it was indeed exclusive to Chiang Mai only! Khao Soi sounds something like "Rice Road" which according to Khun Ake doesn't really mean anything. Sam and I thought maybe it was a staple food of Chiang Mai that can be found at every soi in Chiang Mai. It tastes a bit like our Malaysian version of chicken curry (only sweeter) with thick egg noodles and fried egg noodles on top. It comes with accompanying condiments: pickled cabbage, lime and onions which you should eat with the noodles. According to some locals that we asked, the best ones can be found in the Wararot market near the footbridge over the Ping River. The food court is on the 3rd floor.

Khao Soi

And its condiments

Rent a car and take a ride!

We did just that, rented a car and went for a joy ride to the various attractions in Chiang Mai. We visited their zoo and the newly-installed aquarium. Not only is it really expensive (tourists pay double the price), it is not as well-maintained as the Dusit Zoo in Bangkok and the Aquarium in Phuket and Siam Paragon (okay, we've been to quite a few in Thailand alone :P). So ditch that. I wanted to try the Night Safari, but it was either that or the zoo. Further up from the zoo, is the Doi Suthep temple where you could see a good view of the city. But we were there when it was really misty so all we could see was this:

Okay, on less misty days you were supposed to see the city of Chiang Mai. It ain't called the Scenic Point for nothing!

If, like me, you had always wanted to go on an elephant ride, Chiang Mai has lots of options for you! For us, we drove to the Maesa Elephant Camp in the beautiful Maesa Valley for the elephant show and 1 hour elephant ride! Not encouraged if you get motion sickness easily. Man, the ride was really bumpy! And elephants are really smart! I had no idea they could paint...

There are lots more places to go in Chiang Mai, also a great place for woodcraft, handicrafts, any crafts at all! We went to Baan Tawai, famous for their wood craft but as it was a Sunday, most of the shops were closed. What a bummer! Another place worth a visit is the Borsang Village where you have the famous Borsang umbrellas/parasol made of Sa paper. They are famous because of the intricate paintings on the umbrellas itself. We didn't get to go there, but maybe the next time!

Not to be missed is also their red curry pork (hang-lay) which is sweet and just a little spicy (not as spicy as I would like my curry!). We went to this restaurant twice as it came recommended on travel sites and it did not disappoint. It's called Aroon Rai (no it's not an Indian restaurant) and it claims (with right!) to serve the best curry in town. Go try it out, it's on 45 Kotchasarn Rd facing the main street. Lots of parking inside.

And don't forget the Night Bazaar, the Wua Lai Street Market and the Food Market!!!

And after that...

It was back to work for Samuel and a new adventure for me. I've been toying with the idea of starting a little shop selling craft supplies from Bangkok and it's taken a little over a month to come to fruition and voila! It is aliveee!!

It has so far garnered 7 sales and as I am slowly putting in new items inside, I hope to get more in the future! Okay, my intention was just to shortly mention this so we can keep this blog relevant for the both of us and our readers (who are our readers anw?!) so if you want to find out more about what I'm doing, just go to: www.facebook.com/deejaisupplies.

There are actually many events that had happened since our last post, like our trip to the Dusit Zoo with the residents of Mercy House, or the continuation of our house hunting (4th agent already!) and my attempts to use both my hands creatively (will post about this soon!). If we have the time, we'll get some of them up. I'm re-appreciating* Samuel to get some updates from his side of the story.

*Sam and I had learned before marriage to ask things of each other politely. Instead of Do This and Do That, we would start our sentences with "I'd appreciate it if...". For example: "I'd appreciate it if you didn't leave any surprises for me in the toilet in the morning". It works! :D

A rainbow after every storm (Charis posts)

2010-08-10T19:22:00.002+07:00

Pleasant little things that can cure many a homesick heart:

Alas, they do not have good ol' IKEA here in Bangkok (although I've read snippets that the Swedish DIY-furnitures are coming to town!). The nearest they have is HomePro Plus which has just about everything you need for your house. The one I normally go to is in a 5-storey building connected to the Ploenchit BTS station. Although the prices are not as cheap and attractive as in IKEA, it does have a good variety of home improvement items and you are certainly spoilt for choice with what they have. What I miss, though, is the IKEA cafeteria with their fried chicken wings and free-flow of good coffee!

Caught in a heavy downpour after class one day, I decided to hop into a mall, grab a latte and wait for the rain to stop. I decided to eat at a store called "Sang kaya" or something like that, selling toasted bread with various spreads such as peanut butter, chocolate, sang kaya and butter - the usual. Sang kaya is a Thai custard dessert not unlike our Kaya on toast spread which we normally have for tea/breakfast. It tastes the same, just a little more egg-yolky and sweet. You can see how generous they were with the serving too! The buns were literally swimming in the custard! Because it was sweet, it went well with my latte (less sweet) and I ended up just slurping the custard and ditching the bread. You can find this in the food court in Emporium Mall (Phrom Phong BTS station).

Every weekend, Samuel and I will ask each other the same question: What to eat today? We've been to several places now because of that - and last weekend found us in Siam Paragon. How surprised we were to find that Toast Box is in Bangkok! Okay, although they were not really serving Malaysian food (Toast Box is under the BreadTalk group in Singapore & listed on SGX), they were serving nasi lemak! The dish is not the best (one of my favourite is the nasi lemak in Village Park, Damansara Uptown) but the rice is acceptable - I always judge them by its rice and sambal. You can find them in Siam Paragon's Food Hall and have a nice view of the workers baking for BreadTalk.

Getting dizzy? This is the normal crowd you will expect on weekends in the malls. Just like back home, the malls are always crowded with people young or old. In Bangkok, you add in the number of tourists here, yet one cannot imagine that an estimated 200,000 people visit Chatuchak Market each day!

I mentioned in an earlier post of the rainy season we are currently experiencing here. This picture was taken in our balcony during a heavy downpour which lasted for just half an hour. This has been happening quite frequently now, 20 mins of rain and suddenly the sun comes out again before the final curtain.

This was taken just after a downpour and when the sun came out again. I always liked the outdoors after a heavy rain, it's almost as if all the filth and "old-ness" have been washed away along with the rain. And the best thing about it is sometimes, the rain leaves behind some treasures...

A rainbow after every storm, that's what I want.