What Have I Gotta Say...

Franco @ 1Utama

2015-06-18T20:00:00.000+08:00

From top left clockwise: Lobster bisque pasta, signature French toast, spaghetti yumeina, macha souffle, squid ink rice.

Where I work, management has given each team a quarterly budget, to be used as an incentive to bring everyone out for a good makan session, and just get away from the office for a while. This quarter, just before the fasting month kicked in, I brought this incentive up to my team and said "Let's go MAKAN!"

We decided to head to Franco @ 1Utama (formerly known as Miam Mian), a French-Japanese cafe with a charming ambiance and fusion food. Reading the reviews online also helped us decide on the location.

The lobster bisque pasta was delicious, flavourful and seasoned nicely. Did you say lobster? GST-exempt?! That's not lobster meat on top of the pasta, that's just one large tiger prawn. The other pasta dishes we had were also quite unique in its flavour, although I found the tomato based pastas a little sweet for my liking. The squid ink rice was rather different, wasn't sure what sort of rice they used to make the dish. Good thing I wasn't wearing black that day.

For dessert, I ordered their signature French toast and macha souffle, and both didn't disappoint. I especially liked the macha souffle, left a really warm feeling in my tummy.

The overall experience in Franco is good, though I have to caution you, the prices there are a little on the steep side for pastas (RM 25 and above). The lobster bisque paste was RM 38++, and desserts were above RM12. Fortunately, they too offer lunch sets on weekdays to attract the working crowd, and at RM19.90++ for the lunch set (one main + one drink), I think that's pretty decent considering the rise in living cost these days (that's another story altogether).

Salmon Teriyaki

2015-06-16T19:30:00.000+08:00

We've had the opportunity to buy a whole salmon from the newly opened Village Grocer @ Atria, Damansara Jaya. We couldn't resist the promotional price they were offering (whole fish for RM35.90/kilo), so we whacked one large fish back home. We had requested they fillet the whole fish for us, which makes for easier storage and cooking! I'm going to share a salmon teriyaki recipe, which I learnt from Gordon Ramsay.

Ingredients:
Salmon fillet for two
2cm ginger finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbps soy sauce
1.5 tbps maple syrup (I didn't have maple syrup with me, so I used honey)
1 tbps mirin
Some olive oil

In a bowl, mix the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup/honey and mirin together. This is going to be your teriyaki marinade. Clean and pat dry the salmon fillet, and place them into a deep dish. Pour the marinade over and cover with cling wrap, marinate for up to two hours (or at least 20mins). I had marinated it overnight, Which got me a little worried as I was worried if the fish might get too salty overnight. It didn't taste salty, but I think the next time I cook this dish, I'll marinate it for 2 hours max to try how the flavour would be like.

In a pan, heat up some olive oil and when the oil is hot enough, place the salmon skin side down onto the pan and sear it. After a few minutes, pour the remaining marinade on top and allow the salmon to cook until it's opaque halfway. Flip it over and cook for a few more minutes until the fish is done. Serve with a hot bowl of rice and some vegetables.

Risotto with Pork Broth, Bacon, Mushrooms and Carrots

2015-06-15T12:30:00.000+08:00

Image from Google

Do you like risotto? We like it, and I used to buy the pre-pack risottos from the supermarket. The ones where the rice is already parboiled, and all you add is just water, and stir it for about 15mins for the rice to fully cook. The brand Scotti is easily found in major supermarket chains, and I used to buy them whenever I felt like having risotto at home. One day I decided to make risotto from scratch, you know, experimenting in the kitchen. Since learning about making risotto from scratch, I have not bought a ready mix :P

Arborio rice is unlike your usual white jasmine rice. It is an Italian short grain rice, and you don't have to rinse it because you will wash of the starch, and you will want that starch when making risotto. Riso means rice in Italian. If you're not into starchy rice, you can substitute arborio rice with brown rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup arboria rice (for two pax)

1 tbps butter

2-3 cloves garlic, minced.

1 medium size yellow onion, diced

1 small carrot, diced

2 slices of bacon, cut into smaller bits

4-5 shiitake mushrooms, diced (or use white/swiss brown mushrooms)

1 litre pork broth (I used Knorr pork cubes. You can use any kind of broth)

Pan fry the bacon, then set aside.

Heat up some butter and olive oil in a deep pan or glass pot. Add the garlic and onions and saute until fragrant. Then add the arborio rice, be sure to stir it to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. Add a cup of white wine here if you wish, but I didn't have any white wine when I was making this dish, so I skipped it. Keep stirring the rice to allow it to absorb all that butter olive oil garlic essence for a few minutes. Then, spoon a ladle of broth into the rice, and keep stirring it. When the rice is looking dry, add another ladle of broth. The rice will take 20-30 minutes cook, hence the occasional stirring. When the rice is near done, add the carrots and mushrooms, and a sprinkle of black pepper to taste. Dish and serve.

Honey Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

2015-06-14T12:08:00.000+08:00

Yes it's been a while since my last recipe post, I've been busy and lazy, neglecting my blog yes I know. I'll make it up to you by sharing this honey soy sauce chicken wings recipe, because it's just so easy and yummy to make! credits to Rasa Malaysia.

Ingredients:
5 pcs chicken wings (split into two: wings and drummet - you get 10pcs after splitting them, good for two pax)

Marinade:
1 tbps soy sauce
1 tbps rice wine
1/4 tbps sesame oil
1 inch ginger, finely minced
A dash of white pepper

Glaze (cook the glaze until the liquid thickens)
1.5 tbps honey
1 tbps soy sauce
1/2 tbps mirin
1/2 rice wine

Pat dry the chicken wings and marinade them at least 30 minutes or overnight. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C for 20 minutes, lay the chicken wings onto an oven proof tray . Bake the wings for 10mins, then brush the glaze on them to continue baking for another 10mins. Continue this step until the chicken wings are a little charred (not burnt). Remove from the oven and sprinkle white sesame seeds on top for garnishing.

If you don't want to use the oven for this recipe, you can pan fry the wings until golden brown. Set the wings aside, and in another clean pan, heat up the glaze until it thickens. As the sauce thickens, place back the wings into the pan and coat evenly. Sprinkle white sesame seeds on the wings and serve.

Mi Fit Band

2015-05-28T20:30:00.000+08:00

I've gotten my hands on some wearable technology, surprised hubby with one set too :P At RM 59 per band, the Mi Band worth discovering and giving the product a shot, kan?

Depression Is Real - RIP Madison Holleran

2015-05-28T12:33:00.000+08:00

I came across this line while reading an article this morning, and it rang a huge bell in my head, that this statement carries so much truth in it.

Everyone presents an edited version of life on social media. People share moments that reflect an ideal life, an ideal self.

If the article is too long for you to read, I'll give you a quick summary. Madison is a very pretty college student, who seems to have everything running smoothly in her life. Her struggles in college began to show via her photos and interaction with her family. Despite the pictures she shared on social media, Madison is going through a tough time fitting in, trying to find her place in college and society. Things got so overwhelming, and at 19 years old, she jumped from the 9th floor of a parking garage in downtown Philadelphia.

Madison's last Instagram photo, posted an hour before she took her own life.

I can fully comprehend the struggles Madison was going through. When a person is suffering from depression, everything seems to be in 50 shades of grey (and I don't mean that damn book). You have so much pent up frustration and fear, that when you want to bring it out, and nobody seems to be able to understand you.

People start judging you when you try to pour your fears out. They might say things like "You're thinking too much.", or "You'll get over it."

Depression is not something you switch on and off. To some, depression may seem like a form of mental disorder. I see depression as an overwhelming feeling of sadness and helplessness that could drive a person suffering from it, down a vortex of dark despair. And because people with depression fear being judged by the world, most will mask their sadness and despair with happy faces and pictures. Until everything is too late.

I took about 8-9 months to fully get myself out of depression, which I slipped into after my third miscarriage back in 2012. I spiraled down the ugly vortex of hopelessness, of blame and pain. Many ugly words were said to me (which didn't help the situation at all), and all I felt was, I wanted to die. The turning point came when my mind started having fleeting thoughts about suicide. The thoughts shook me, made me jump out of my skin. I didn't think I would ever have the words suicide cross my mind. I had always thought people who commit suicide were selfish people, leaving their loved ones behind to deal with the pain and sadness. I stand corrected.

Things have improved a lot since I stepped out from the deep hole, I'm feeling a lot better about myself and of my life. I do hope the world and society will take more heed into looking at symptoms of depression in a person, it's not about pumping a patient with anti-depressants (they don't work shit). Depression is real, and with the world going more topsy turvy, we can expect to see a lot more cases in the near future.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12833146/instagram-account-university-pennsylvania-runner-showed-only-part-story

Thinking Of You

2015-04-19T16:31:00.001+08:00

I'm suddenly missing of three of you so badly. My thoughts turn to you when I least expect it, and sometimes the feeling is just so overwhelming, that tears start to well up in my eyes and I would just start sobbing.

Not a day goes by that I do not think about the three of you. I would sometimes ask myself, how different would our lives be had either one of you, or all three of you, are alive today with us. Sometimes I would wonder, are you happy? Are you well taken care of? Have you found each other? Are you loved?

I know these questions are futile, but one can't help but wonder at times. I'm sorry I cannot be there to watch you grow. I'm sorry I cannot be there to cuddle and hold you when you're afraid of the dark. I'm sorry I cannot be there to take you to kindergarten or to walk to you to school, or take you to the play ground and watch you swing as high as you can to reach the skies. I'm sorry if my body wasn't able to sustain you long enough for you come into this world, I tried. I'm sorry if you're angry with me, I'm sorry you didn't choose me. I hope that wherever the three of you are, I want you to know that I hope that the three of you have found loving homes, and will always, always be happy. I love you.

Robata Monkey @ Jaya One

2015-03-17T12:30:00.000+08:00

For our 10th ROM anniversary this year, I suggested to hubby we head over to this new Japanese establishment in Jaya One for some grilled seafood. From the same people behind Kissaten @ Jaya One, now they bring you Robata Monkey. This is an excerpt from the Facebook page:

Robata Monkey is a robatayaki style izakaya. We serve a careful selection of local & imported Japanese fresh seafood, juicy meats & seasonal vegetables grilled over an OPEN SANDPIT HEARTH. This cooking method is keeping with the traditional robatayaki style, which originated in rustic farmhouses throughout Sendai.

And yes, this is the actual sandpit with my salmon belly cooking there. I was standing behind the counter and I could feel the intense heat from the sandpit already, so you might not want to sit at the counter lest your mascara stands melting while you wait for your meal.

Let's go to the food. During lunch they have a selection of set lunches which will go down well for the working class around Jaya One, as it provides you with a full bento lunch set for a reasonable price. If you are more adventurous, go for their ala carte stuff.

As their menu says, Robata Monkey specializes in izakaya style, which in Japan means small establishments which serve you small bites and beer to go along with the food. Except for this case in Robata Monkey, you can opt for full bento sets when available (and the sets are generous).

Clockwise from left: Tune cheeks (sushi), sabayaki bento lunch set, ebi tempura, kakiage tempura (mixed vegetables tempura), grilled salmon belly, grilled unagi.

Price point is slightly on the higher side (unagi is RM 48), but the food quality does make splurging once a while worth it. Our total bill came up to about RM 130 for all you just saw in the picture above.

In Stitches

2015-03-16T16:04:00.003+08:00

Updating the blog with a story about stitches.

So hubby was in the kitchen cutting up a watermelon, while I was in the living room - When suddenly, I heard a loud clang, like some metal had just hit the floor. The loud clang was followed by a loud groan of pain. I rushed into the kitchen and discovered my husband was sitting on the floor, holding on to his right foot and was using a kitchen towel to clutch onto his right foot. And there was some blood splatter on the floor.

First response: Get the knife out of the way and get the first aid kit from the cabinet.
Second response: OH SHIT! (this was after seeing the blood on the floor - I didn't faint, I'm fine with blood)

I grabbed more kitchen towels and handed them to hubby, as he sat there applying pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. He kept reassuring me he was alright (which I'm sure he was, but still!). As I picked up the knife I saw that there was a bit of blood at the tip, which meant as the knife fell, the sharp end probably cut his foot as the knife landed on the floor.

I dropped the knife into the kitchen sink, grabbed more kitchen towels and proceeded to clean the floor. Then I rummaged through the first aid kit to see if there was any anti-septic cream or yellow solution to clean the wound. I did have a cream but it had expired. So I got some yellow solution from my next door neighbour. As we cleaned the wound and applied the solution, I unrolled some gauze and tape and wrapped my husband's leg with them. I wanted to take him to a nearby clinic or maybe the nearby hospital emergency ward, but he said he was OK and there was no need for that (it was rather late at night).

The next morning we woke up early and checked the wound, which was a little swollen around the area of the cut, but showed no signs of infection(which is good news!). I decided to take hubby to our regular GP in Damansara Uptown anyway, to get things checked out. There was no infection, but because the knife did cut a little bit of a small vein on the foot, so doctor needed to stitch things up and also have hubby a tetanus jab just in case (3 stitches). Poor boy was in agony each time the nurse cleaned the wound with the alcohol swab. Stitches will be removed in 10 days time, and he has to go back for a checkup in a few days. He's going to limping for a few days at least, no badminton or sports until full recovery in a couple of weeks.

Sabah Kampung Beef Noodles (Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap) @ Kota Damansara

2015-01-23T12:30:00.000+08:00

Ngiu Chap from Sabah Kampung Beef Noodles @ Kota Damansara

If you've been to Kota Kinabalu, you might have had a taste of one of the local favourites before: ngiu chap. Essentially it is a bowl of hearty beef broth with noodles with beef stew, beef tripe, all things beef lah.

We were introduced to this hearty bowl several years ago during one of our many trips to Sabah, and love every mouthful of it. Problem was, we don't have it back in KL. So when I first heard of this place in Damansara Perdana, I consulted a friend living at that area, this which he replied it was only so-so by his standard. Instead, he advised me to go to Kota Damansara to get my fix of ngiu chap.

The location of Sabah Kampung Beef Noodles is not hard to find. It's currently occupying a corner shop lot right opposite PappaRich, easy enough to find. Parking might prove to be more a headache, as Kota Damansara is a crowded area, so be prepared walk a bit. I was around that area on fine Sunday to see my optician, so I suggested to hubby to try this ngiu chap place.

This huge bowl of ngiu chap from Sabah Kampung Beef Noodles (Kah Hiang Ngiu Chap) cost RM13.90, and you get a generous bowl of awesomeness. Pick your noodle of choice (lai fun, yellow noodles, kuey teow, mihun), and patiently wait for your bowl to come to you. Generous portions of beef stew, beef tripe, beef slices and some beef balls make this hearty bowl of goodness. The beef broth is flavourful (we didn't feel very thirsty after eating it, so it's a good sign the restaurant probably didn't load on MSG so much), and the beef stew was tender to the bite. And to be honest, I couldn't finish the noodles, I think I left half a portion of noodles in my bowl after eating all that meat!

They also have an option of the same item without the noodles, but that will set you back RM 16.90. How come, you ask? This is because the soup version comes with 11 different beef items, where else this bowl of ngiu chap only had 4 items in it (beef stew, beef tripe, beef slices and beef balls). I prefer the beef balls from Soong Kee SS2, it's much springier than the ones at Sabah Kampung.

So, if you're craving for some good ol' ngiu chap, look no further, now you can get it right here in Petaling Jaya. Don't forget to try the ngiu chap with their Kah Hiong chilli paste, it's really spicy! And I was told Sabah Kampung has a branch in Puchong too.

Beef Stroganoff

2015-01-19T12:30:00.000+08:00

What makes a hearty meal? Some beef stroganoff and white rice of course! Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
Beef strips (you can use any cut)
4 Tbsp butter, divided
Salt and ground black pepper
1 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced.
1 lb. sliced mushrooms (I used qhite button mushrooms)
1/2 cup dry white wine (or you can substitute in more beef broth)
1.5 cups beef broth (I used half a beef cube stock)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or light sour cream
(optional garnish) chopped fresh parsley

Melt some butter on hot skillet, and sear the beef strips until half done, set aside. In the same skillet, add more butter and add the onions. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until all is cooked. Add the white wine and let it simmer for a few minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk the beef broth, flour and Worcestershire until smooth. Pour the broth into the skillet and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the Greek yogurt until combined, and add back the beef strips. Simmer for a few more minutes and season with salt and ground black pepper. Garnish with some chopped parsley leaves.

If you won't want to use Greek yogurt, substitute it with cooking cream.

Swedish Meatballs

2015-01-18T15:56:00.000+08:00

Ah, the joys of cooking. Labouring over the kitchen counter and sweating your glands out to prepare sumptuous meals for your love ones. Nothing beats preparing some home cook meals and seeing the happy faces stuffing their faces and giving you the thumbs up for the glorious spread you have prepared.

OK I let my imagination run a little, as you can clearly tell. I don't cook for large groups (doubt I can handle it), plus with only the both of us in the house, it makes trying out new recipes a lot more fun, as I have a willing guinea pig.

This is my take on IKEA's Swedish meatballs. The recipe makes a large batch of over 40 meatballs, so I split them into 3 batches (eat one batch, freeze the other 2 batches for next time). I got the recipe from here.

Ingredients:
3 ounces fresh white bread, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 medium onion, minced or grated, divided into two portions (you will cook half and the half remains raw)
1 pound 4 ounces ground beef chuck
12 ounces ground pork
4 teaspoons (18 grams) salt, plus more for seasoning (this is your own judgement, I had reduced the amount by half)
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Olive oil for light frying

Meatball sauce ingredients:
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock or beef broth (I used half a beef cube stock)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

In a medium bowl, combine the milk and white bread and let it soak for about 10mins. Meanwhile, heat up a skillet or pan and melt 2 tbps of butter on it. Add half of the minced onion and cook until they are golden and tender. In a deep bowl, combine the beef, pork patty, cooked onions, raw onions, eggs, white pepper, and allspice and using your clean hands, mix everything up thoroughly (or you could use a mixer to help you mix).

Once you have the patty ready, line a piece of baking sheet or aluminum foil over a rack. Using your hands, take a tablespoon of meat mixture and roll them into a balls, about the size of golf balls. Prepare a small bowl of water, as you will need a bit of water to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hand.

Pre-heat the oven at 100°C. While the oven is pre-heating, pre-heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat, and lower the meatballs into the oil to fry, turning them to brown all over (about 2 minutes). Transfer the meatballs into the oven to keep warm (that's why you pre-heat the oven at 100°C).

In a saucepan, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat until it's foamy. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking until the raw flour smell is gone. Whisk in the beef broth and let it simmer until the sauce thickens. Add the soya sauce and apple cider vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Now let me tell you that this sauce recipe is clear-ish, and not the brown sauce you find in IKEA. To add the brown colour to the sauce, you can add a dash of thick soy sauce or some Worchestershire sauce.

Serve the meatballs with some chopped parsley for garnishing, with the sauce in a separate bowl. You can add lingonberry on the side or any jam you like.

I've also discovered that the longer you cook the roux, the colour will change from pale yellow to the shade of coffee with cream.

White roux - cook and butter and flour for a few minutes until the raw flour smell is gone
Blond roux - same cooking method as white roux, but cooked for a minute or two longer to get a darker colour
Brown roux - the darkest of roux, this is cooked for the longest amount of time until you achieve a coffee-with-milk shade. Best to cook this under low heat to prevent burning.

Bacon Wrapped Tofu

2015-01-02T11:33:00.001+08:00

In case you're wondering about my obsession with bacon, no it's not an obsession. It's just that each time we replenish our bacon stock, we buy 1KG and then split the strips into several packets (between 4 to 6 strips, depending on the size) and store them in the freezer. One packet is one serving, which makes it easier for us to thaw the strips for meals.

This is one recipe I picked up while vacationing in Japan this year. Full of protein and taste absolutely delicious (it's bacon, come on). Get the more solid tofu makes that don't break so easily. The Japanese TV programme actually used smaller cuts of tofu, so they had actually wrapped the whole tofu up within the bacon itself. I had cut the tofu into thicker strips.

Ingredients:
Japanese tofu (get the harder kind, they don't break so easily)
Bacon strips
Toasted white sesame seeds for garnishing

Cut the tofu into 1.5cm strips. Pat dry the tofu with some kitchen towels to absorb the excess water. Leave the tofu on kitchen towels for at least 30mins, to less water the tofu has the easier it is to handle it.

Wrap them up with bacon strips and fry them in a bit of oil to brown the bacon. You can also cut the tofu up into smaller cubes and wrap the bacon all round to get a little bacon ball. Use medium heat to cook the bacon, that way they don't get charred too fast. You want the bacon to be cooked and crispy, not charred. Sprinkle some sesame seed on top and serve.

Japan 2014

2014-12-22T11:02:00.000+08:00

We went back to Tokyo for the second this, and it was the best last minute decision we made. I badly needed a holiday to get away from all that emotional stress, I had not thought of Tokyo due to the last minute planning, was afraid we may not be able to secure accommodations due to the peak season. But lo and behold, luck was on our side, and I managed to secure a decent room for 8 nights via Booking.com

Hotel MyStays Ueno-Iriyaguchi was a decent place, newly renovated in April. Prices were reasonable by Japanese standard (about RM 350/night), clean and it had everything to make things comfortable. Plus point for the little kitchenette and small storage room which meant we can keep our luggage inside (instead of occupying floor space), and cook very light meals indoors. It's also a 5-min walk to Ueno Station, which had many train lines passing through, making it an ideal location to get to anywhere in Tokyo via train.

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We walked so much till our feet hurt, enjoyed so much Japanese food and morsels till our stomachs thanked us. Basically we just walked and soaked in Tokyo for it it gave us. I came home with some new clothes which I picked up rather cheaply as well (if you know where to buy, things need not be expensive in Tokyo). Plus Uniqlo is cheaper there, which makes me angry that Malaysia is actually quite an expensive country to live in if you're Malaysian.

Our next trip to Japan, will be to other places and prefecture. Tokyo, thank you for the good holiday, you never disappoint! :D

Recreating The Green Fingers

2014-11-26T12:30:00.000+08:00

Went to Bosko Centerpoint BU for lunch the other day, and came across a very simple lunch on their menu. It's refreshing, simple, and taste great. This is what a good pizza should be, nothing fancy, just a good dough, a good sauce, cheese and some greens to add flavour. And after having it, I decided to try to make it at home, using tortilla wraps.

OK, so mine had more cheese and the arugula leaves were bigger, but it still taste just as great, if not better :D

Ingredients:
Tortilla wraps (or you can make your own dough)
Pitted black olives, sliced
Pasta sauce (I used the one I bought from Marks & Spencer)
Feta cheese (crumbled).
Mozzarella cheese
Arugula or rocket leaves for garnishing

On a tortilla wrap, spread the pasta sauce on it using a spoon. Scatter the black olives and feta cheese on the wrap, and then the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake until cheese melts or golden brown, then scatter the leaves on top and serve. Enjoy!

Giving Fat A New Meaning

2014-11-25T21:00:00.000+08:00

I rest my case :)

Grumpy Oli

2014-11-25T11:05:00.001+08:00

I've been grumpy lately. And reading the many news and headlines whether from Facebook or from tweets, isn't helping much. In fact, they only make me grumpier.

Reading about how our government is spending tax payers monies freely and not having a care to be accountable for it.

Renaming main roads because DBKL says so (which I think doesn't make sense when the original names give the roads so much more character and history, but what do I know, I'm a pendatang to the government). No positive objective coming from this exercise.

Reading about certain NGOs screaming bloody murder about how a certain race is being marginalized and needs constant crutches from the government to stand up even after 57 years of independence. I for one cannot fathom how that race, which forms 60% of the population, can be marginalized, when there are plenty of incentives for them to utilize out there, where else the other races cannot even qualify for those incentives simply because of our skin colour and ancestral background. And when they cannot get jobs, cannot get loans, they find it easier to blame others other than themselves. They blame others for "stealing" from them. They blame others for taking what they think is their entitlement. Friend, no one in the world has entitlements, you fucking work for what you want. Only the lazy ones will blames others for what they don't have, and you are a lazy one. You're just afraid you cannot compete with the real world, so you rather shroud yourself and shroud others, on the pretext of "defending". When the actual fact is, you are afraid of life itself. Boo-yah.

I'm taking a break from all this nonsense.

Of Broken Bones and Breaking Spirits

2014-11-09T15:31:00.001+08:00

It's been almost a month since my last blog post, and I'm guilty of not updating my blog as frequently as I used to. It's been quite a year for me, some rough patches in between, which kinda made me want to just disconnect and reconnect with myself all over again.

The months of this year has been somewhat kind and unkind to me. I've had to deal with my inner demons again, sometimes losing, sometimes winning. It's been a struggle I have to admit, and it won't get any easier at all. I just have to find ways to deal with it better. I'm glad to say that most of the time, after a good cry, I jump right out of it. A small percentage of the time, I wallow in my own misery which I've constructed, and just need to take some time off for myself, have some quiet moment to relish, shut everyone out for a while, and lay low.

The crazy sibling has moved in to my house, and she herself is going through a rather rough patch, and is in need of family right now. I could use another maid and cook in the house HAHAHAHA! Anyway, a couple of weeks back, I had received a phone call during lunch hour that the crazy sibling had suffered an injury during her crossfit challenge, and was admitted to the private medical centre in Manila. During one of the challenges, she had suffered a broken upper right arm (broken humerus bone), and because of the injury, the doctors must conduct surgery on her as soon as possible.

I lost my lunch appetite after that phone call. I called my parents to break the news (they were calm about it as I assured them I will handle things, and the crazy sibling was not alone as her friends were with her, and her estranged husband also flew to Manila as well to make sure things are OK. I had thoughts about flying to Manila as well, but hubby suggested that I stay in KL to help coordinate things (digged up her insurance policy etc and sent necessary documents over).

The surgery took a whopping 6 hours, from the initial 3 hours (which made me worry so much I was in tears a few times). Eventually the crazy sibling was discharged a couple of days later, and I sent my other younger sibling to Manila to bring her home. I could not tell you enough the relief I had the moment they stepped into the car when we picked them up from the airport (yes, now we can laugh about it).

I'm just glad the crazy sibling is OK. She's in high spirits and recovery is going along nicely, although the numbness she is feeling on her right arm is common due to the nature of the injury. She wants to be called Robocop now, so I just layan her lah.

It Happened To Me

2014-10-13T15:34:00.000+08:00

I'm usually very careful with my gadgets, as I'm a firm believer that you can usually prevent something from happening if it's within your control, and that you don't create the opportunity for something to go missing.

This time around, I was careless. I let my guard down for a while. And the result? I lost my iPhone 4, a device I've had since 2010. Granted the phone is over 4 years old, its processor is lagging, it can't update to the latest iOS 8, and it's value in the market is almost zero. But it wasn't so much of losing the phone that made me upset, it was how I lost it.

I was in the fitting room in H&M, 1Utama. And I was in the middle of texting my hubby as he was waiting for me somewhere else, and because reception was so bloody bad in the fitting room, I left the phone on the stool so that I could hear it when text notifications come in. I thought I had dropped the phone back in my bag after using it, but I guess I got careless and didn't check properly. I walked out of the fitting room to get something, and realized my phone wasn't with me (and all this happened in the span of 5 minutes max). I ran back into the fitting room and asked the guy manning the counter, if anyone had returned a phone - To which he said NO. I knocked on the fitting room door I was using previously and asked the lady inside, she too said NO. I asked two more fitting rooms side by side (just in case I got the wrong room), and both also said NO.

When I caught up with hubby, we tried calling the number, sure enough, the phone was shut off. I went back home immediately, logged into my iCloud account, and set the phone to erase remotely (the moment the phone is turned on and with data, it was set to erase). I was very upset that it happened to me, and how it could've been prevented if I was just a bit more careful and on guard. Later I would discover that my colleague and her friend also lost their smartphones in the same manner, also in H&M outlets in the city.

Note to self: Always put the phone back in your bag, and zip the bag. Never rush.

Anyway, I had been playing with the idea of switching to a bigger smartphone recently, I just didn't expect to get one so soon. I was actually going to wait for the iPhone 6 Plus, but after discovering the exorbitant price tag (it will cost me over RM 3,000 for the iPhone 6 Plus, 64GB), I decided I'm not going to spend my money on the iPhone, and switch to getting an Android. I consulted my colleague who does a lot of reviews on gadgets, and made my decision to get the OPPO Find 7 :) Plus point was that I got it at dealer price (which includes a white flip case), and it's an early birthday gift from hubby :) I'm still tinkering with the device as it's full of features (makes the iPhone kinda meh in more ways than one haha!), check out their global site for more info.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Chop

2014-09-16T13:30:00.000+08:00

I wanted to try something different with pork chops this round, and started Googling for some recipes with lemongrass. Stumbled upon this super easy Vietnamese style pork chop, and I'm loving it!

Ingredients:
Pork chops
1 1/2 to 2 tbps brown sugar
1 tbps minced garlic
1 tbps chopped onion or shallots
1-2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbps dark soy sauce
1 1/2 tbps fish sauce
1 tbps oil

If you have a blender, throw the sugar, onions, garlic and lemongrass into the blender and blend them until they become a fine texture. Otherwise you can just finely chop each of the ingredients separately (chop them as fine as possible). In a large bowl, mix all the chopped ingredients up, add the oil, black pepper, dark soy sauce and fish sauce and mix them all up into a smooth dark brown paste. Marinate the pork chops with the paste overnight for an extra strong flavour. Grill the pork chops for about 8mins or if you're like me preferring to opt for easy cleaning, pop them in the oven for about 20 mins at 190°.

Peking duck @ Meng Kee Peking Duck Restaurant, Glenmarie

2014-09-15T18:10:00.003+08:00

Overdue post, but heck!

We celebrated my mum's birthday recently, and we headed to Meng Kee Peking Duck Restaurant, Glenmarie, as my mum had read an article about this restaurant and lamented that she wanted to savour their Peking duck.

FYI, the Meng Kee group also owns the famous Meng Kee Char Siew in Glenmarie, and also has a ramen shop all within the same street in Glenmarie.

Priced at RM60/whole duck, it's fairly reasonable, and the writer gave it a pretty decent review, so we figured, should be ok lah, kan? Sekali the dish was served, one look, and we all agreed, presentation is sloppy.

To be honest, it was really more of a roast duck than a Peking duck. If you've never had Peking duck before, the concept is as such. The duck is marinated with herbs and glazed with maltose syrup (hence the shiny skin) and is prized for its crispy skin. Before the duck is roasted, air is pumped under the skin to bloat the duck up, giving it a rounder shape (also to separate the skin from the meat during the slicing process - see image below). In Beijing, special ducks are used for this dish (not just any quacking feathered friend will do).

Image from Google

To continue my review on Meng Kee's Peking duck version, it definitely lacked the authentic Peking duck flavour. OK so I may be biased now when it comes to Peking duck, simply because hubby and myself have already had our share of good Peking duck during our last trip to Beijing. But really, for the writer to sing high praises about Meng Kee's Peking duck, was a little far fetched in my opinion. We were simply served slices of roast duck, and sloppy sliced duck too. Nothing much to say about the condiments and wraps, can't really go wrong with them. Everything comes down to the duck, and that is not Peking duck. I'm only giving this a 4/10.

Whole Peking duck @ Meng Kee Peking Duck Restaurant, Glenmarie

One of the best Peking duck experience we've had while in Beijing? Definitely from Beijing Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant located at Dongsi 10th Alley (or in Mandarin it's pronounced as Dongshishitiao). See the image below, doesn't it make you want to make a trip to Beijing now?

Roller Coaster Rides

2014-08-18T12:41:00.000+08:00

Image from Google.

The past few months has been a particular difficult emotional roller coaster ride for me. Every single social media platform I'm in, I see images. I get reminders. I get messages. It's like people are screaming at me, pushing me, reminding me.

Memories come flooding back like a gush of water broken from a dam. The emotions slams into me so hard I cannot fight back, pushing me up against the wall and slamming me wave after wave right into my face. I'm helpless. I cry. I weep.

It may sound silly for some, but it's real for me. I may have healed, picked up the pieces to put them back together. But no matter how I try, some pieces no longer fit perfectly, and the cracks will always be visible. Some pieces will slip through the cracks, and I will have an emotional breakdown for a while, and retreat to my quiet cave for some silent moments.

The cracks are what make me who I am today. I have been broken, the heart has been shattered a few times. I've managed to lift my spirits by finding other means to keep moving forward. Between the fear, the sadness, the uncertainty and anxiety, I live with happiness, contentment, joy, optimism, hope and excitement with those around me.

Do I still have faith? On good days I have, on bad days not so much.

RIP Robin Williams (1951 - 2014)

2014-08-13T16:13:00.002+08:00

Image from Google

"Suicide is a decision made out of desperation, hopelessness, isolation and loneliness. The black hole that is clinical depression is all-consuming. Feeling like a burden to loved ones, feeling like there is no way out, feeling trapped and feeling isolated are all common among people who suffer from depression."

"Until you've stared down that level of depression, until you've lost your soul to a sea of emptiness and darkness... you don't get to make those judgments."

Rest in peace Robin. You've brought a lot of joy and laughter to the world. It is a pity the one thing you brought to the world was the one thing you needed the most to get through the depressive state you've been battling for so many years. I hope people will take depression more seriously, and not just brush it away and pretend it never happened. Sometimes you pick up the pieces, but they never seem to fit perfectly.

Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-hurley/theres-nothing-selfish-about-suicide_b_5672519.html

Yat-Wok-Suk

2014-08-12T18:00:00.000+08:00

Sometimes when I'm feeling lazy, I would simply whip up a meal with everything in one dish. In Cantonese we call it "yat-wok-suk", which means everything cooks together. It's like how you can make yam rice with a rice cooker, by throwing everything into one pot and just let it cook.

While I don't cook that much rice at home, I prefer to roast meat and vegetables in one dish, which also makes cleaning a lot easier, and preparation time is faster.

Marinade the chicken overnight (or at least a few hours) with these ingredients:
Olive oil
Mixed herbs
Garlic powder
Some honey
A dash of dark soy sauce
(or you can use any roast chicken recipe)

Before you roast the chicken, make sure to bring it out from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 30mins. Pre-heat the oven at 190° for about 10mins.

Chop the bell peppers into large bite sizes (remove the seeds at the core), and toss them with some olive oil, mixed herbs and ground black pepper. Place them into a baking dish, then place the chicken on top of the bell peppers. When the chicken is roasting (roasting time is about 15mins), the juices from the chicken will ooze out and flow onto the bell peppers, making them even juicier and tasty. I added a dollop of butter on the chicken while roasting too, for that extra flavour yum.

Simple, easy to prepare, and easy to clean. Especially when you're cooking for one.

A&W Padang Timur: A Revisit

2014-08-10T15:27:00.000+08:00

Ever since the news broke out on KUB's plans to close the A&W Padang Timur outlet by the end of the year to make way for some office towers, many of us felt we were going to lose an icon to progress and profit. No doubt about it, this particular A&W branch is the very first A&W outlet in Petaling Jaya and has a very special place in many of our hearts, especially for those who have lived in PJ since 1970s.

I remember when I was a little kid and living in Paramount Garden, my dad would always buy A&W fried chicken (those days, there was the buy 10 pcs get one gallon root beer FOC). Ahhh who can forget the rootbeer straight from the tap? Using the iconic A&W rootbeer chilled mug, filling it with cold rootbeer and topping it with two scoops of creamy vanilla ice-cream. Back then, A&W fried chicken was the best fried chicken ever. That was before other fast food franchises came into the picture.

I will have to say... the downfall of A&W probably began after the franchise was taken over by KUB. Somehow, food quality and service just kept deteriorating, resulting in A&W losing its charm. That's the problem when you let inexperience companies handle F&B. All that introduction of new burgers and bla, they should've just stuck to the rootbeer, coney dog, fried chicken an awesome waffles (because that is what A&W really is about, good ol' All American food).

During the recent Raya break, my crazy sibling was back for the holidays and we decided to head over to A&W Padang Timur branch for lunch. The outlet was packed to the brim, with a long line of folks queuing for their orders, two childrens' party indoors, and loads of people taking pictures of the premise. I don't think that branch has ever experience such an overwhelming crowd before.

While my husband took a seat, the crazy sibling and I queued at the counter. You would think all counters would be open to cater to the crowd, but no. Only two counters were opened. Never mind, we had the patience because this is A&W, and we were here really for the nostalgia. As we shuffled along, I noticed there was no queue for the waffle line, so I made a mental note to include a waffle in my order. As I was about to reach the counter, they opened up two more counters (thank goodness).

To keep the story short, we waited in line for one hour for our food, and another hour for our waffle at the waffle counter. Service was immensely slow, they were understaffed, some of the staff were part-timers and had no clue what they were doing and the lady manning the waffle counter didn't know how to properly time the waffle cooking time at all (hence the long wait). Business is already bad on most days, and now that the crowd is swelling due to the news about the outlet closing down, I believe every patron is just there to relive the moment for a little while, back to the good ol' days of A&W, before things went spiraling down for the brand.

As a consolation, we had 8 pcs of fried chicken (I ordered 6), our rootbeer float came with two scopes (I asked for single scope), and our waffle was made by a senior member of the staff (the table next to us had bad waffles, they were repeatedly stabbing it because it was overcooked). If KUB doesn't embark on a turnaround strategy to keep A&W alive, it's a gonner, and would be a very very sad way to see the brand go because of KUB's incompetence.