thank God its friday

Though I was at work only three days this week as I was on mc, boy am I glad that the weekend's here. Maybe it is due to missing last weekend (away on company's retreat) or maybe it just one of those days when lepaking seems more appealing than crawling out of bed to go to work... oh heck, I definitely think and know its the latter. No revelation there.

I have kinda mentally planned my weekend retreat. Tomorrow, both my husband and I will go and watch a movie either in MV or 1U, depending on where I can get hold of tickets to '300', so far no luck at either. Hopefully we can get hold of the tickets before the end of today, otherwise there goes my plans...

Upon getting our tickets, we will go and have breakfast. My husband usually craves pancakes on Saturdays, and we have on several occasions sampled those at 1U but so far none have been of any standard. Maybe this time, we will try the hotcakes a McD's. Cheap and hopefully good.

Of course this will only be fulfilled if and when we get OUR TICKETS!!!

After the movie, we will go and do some grocery shopping, visit the cosmetics dept to stock up and then head home.

I hope to go to Rakuzen for some maki for dinner and thankfully the Man U match will only kick-off at 9.55pm (yahoo!!!). And husband dearest if you are reading, Rakuzen or Sugimoto, your choice... or why not the Jap place at BV... yummy cod and mackerel....

This is all dependent on the acquisition of the tickets, well at least for the 1st half of the day. I am sure my husband is game for Jap for dinner (subtle persuasion).

On Sunday, I have an appointment with my hair stylist at 12noon at the Curve coz husband will be golfing then. Afterwhich I will have a late lunch, walk around the bazaar area (but I do want to go to the bazaar at Mont Kiaralah...saw some nice shoes there; maybe next week) and drop by Metro to try on the ring I saw a month ago (very slo'mo'...possibly sold out already) then drop by mum's, sembang-sembang, decide on dinner and go home. End of weekend. Way too short!

Anyway, had a great lunch with the girls from the office. Very seldom do we get a chance coz busy and all but we managed today. Great time catching up especially with the stories about last weekend.

Again, contemplating where to eat (always the main topic around 11.30am), we ended up once again at the Curve and once again with some many choices, we had to take a consensus and finally decided on Friday's.

I had to go off to the washroom and had the girls decide on what to order. We had onion rings (bland), parmesan chicken with pasta(less bland, nothing great) and the BBQ steak burger (scrumptious; large portions). Total bill was about RM95 for 2 mains, 1 appetiser and 3 drinks. Not bad. Filling but its okaylah, conditioned for the weekend.

Since my hair appointment has been postponed to Sunday, my initial plan to grab food from Kenny Rogers for husband has been dashed. But it turned out to be for the better coz I think he's caught my bug and is now without voice. Maybe will just make him something simple and soupy for his throat. Good wife - ME.

Have a great weekend ya all.

lam mee lunch

Still nursing an awful cough and the lack of voice, my decision for lunch was tough; can't have cafeteria food coz its too oily and not healthy usually, don't feel like fast food coz mostly deepfried patties and can't keep away from those fries and going home for lunch was just not an attractive notion today. So off we went to the Curve for lunch. Since they have multitudes of makan shops, surely we can locate one that is nutritious and slightly appetising (quite an oxymoron isn't it).

After making the rounds and agreeing (finally!), we ended up at one of our usual lunch joints, Little Penang Cafe. Familiar with their menu, I was debating over the Acar Fish set that comes with pucuk paku, either a ju hu char (some cuttlefish dish) or lobak (5 spiced meat wrapped in beancurd sheet) and of course the acar fish served with rice or the Lam mee. For a split moment the fish set did beat the lam mee on the nutritious value but the thought of the 'kenyang' (too full for lunch) factor, I gave that a miss and settled instead for the lam mee and a 'pat poh'(eight treasure) herbal tea. My colleague had a curry mee and the herbal tea.

Service as usual was very prompt, so prompt that the food came before the drinks. When I first saw my dish, I thought something was amiss. The soup/gravy was a little diluted/watery; isn't lam mee supposed to be soaked in slightly thickened broth. Tasted more like a chicken noodle soup rather than lam mee... maybe I have got the dishes mistaken??!! Anyway couldn't finish it. I think I managed only to put away slightly less than half. Disappointed. The herbal tea, on the other hand, was good.

My colleague's curry mee looks quite yummy with the rich coconut milk. But should I have eaten that instead, my voice will probably take a longer time to recover. I refrained.

But I have to add that the accompanying sambal for my lam mee was scrumptious. Spicy. My sister will like it too. Spicy sisters!

So, know I have started to ponder on my next meal coz I am kinda hungry. Maybe for dinner I can make pizza at home... then again how nutritious is that. Maybe not.

speechless

I touched down in KL on Sunday at about 2.40pm, one hour later than scheduled time due to technical problems. Mind you we took MAS but being delayed 1 hour (less tolerant if you have to pay for an all frills flight!), may consider taking AirAsia the next time.

Anyway the three days in Langkawi were alright. Very hot!!! The food wasn't great plus the room we had was the lowest of the grade, so nothing to rave about.

And the worst thing that could happen, happened - I caught a bug and my throat is like super sore and on top of that I lost my voice.

I went the Dr's and was given alot of meds to take and diligently I have (since Sunday) but I am still without voice.

I know realised that I can't keep quite for very long. I need to talk and respond. For two days now, I can't. I have a deficiency. Hopefully this will all pass soon because it is so difficult being at work and having trouble answering and responding to calls. Buggero!

Had chicken and peanut porridge last night(bland) while husband lapped up the last drop of sauce from his hokkien mee. He didn't allow me to have any of his. Buggero!!

Don't know what surprise he has for me tonight...

kneaded bread

They call it roti prata in Singapore but in Malaysia it is fondly known as the Roti Canai. Made from flour with alot of oil (that's why it so flavourful), the roti canai which when translated in English means kneaded (canai) and dough/bread (roti).

Usually served with curry and dhall, one can opt for fish or chicken (only the curry) and dhall which is made from lentils with carrots, potatoes, etc. You can also have fried chicken or fish or mutton or beef depending on what you want. Then again, there is always the fish in the fish curry and chicken in the chicken curry.

Anyway, had another craving this morning and this time, it was the ROTI CANAI. Our cafeteria serves a decent roti canai and the gravy is not bad too. Due to the congestion and the smell of oil when dining there, I usually takeaway. You must be wondering how on earth does one dine on roti canai without having to transfer the gravy into different bowls, etc...

My solution is very simple and done by many over the decades. I place an order of a torn roti and ask for 'banjir' when translated means flood!!! it with GRAVY both the curry and the dhall plus a dollop of sambal for that extra kick. Easy Peasy. Yummy like crazy!

Now that I am recollecting what happened in the morning, with the conscious reminder of how stuffed I am,there will be no lunch for me. Sudah kenyang (full). Probably just a drink to settle my stomach...

hot, hotter, hottest

Was in Langkawi on a day trip yesterday to recce a venue for a company do. Blazing hot weather and somehow the skies seemed more vibrant than that in KL. Maybe its all the blue and green, who knows...

Anyway, upon arrival, I hopped onto the taxi and was taken to the Westin to do my rounds of inspection. The landscape seemed a little parched (maybe from the lack of rain) but the interior of the hotel made up for it. A contemporary slant yet very welcoming and peaceful. The warm colours of beige and white with textured walls from stones were brilliantly coupled for that Westin touch. Very similar to Westin KL and if you like it there, chances are you will at Westin Langkawi too.

They have 3 very distinct f&b outlets at the Westin, namely Taste that serves western and local food, Tide serves Thai Fusion and Breeze which is the bar. I didn't have a chance to sample all the choices but did have a go at Tide. Highly recommended at Tide is their Pad Thai dish as well as the Thai fish cakes. And having tasted the Pad Thai at the Peninsula Bangkok, this one wins them hands down. Not oily at all and the size was just right. All hype of a great charkwayteow without the heartburn thereafter. The brown sugar served as the condiment was a nice touch and it did add even more flavour to the dish.

Besides the selection of restaurants, the pools were very inviting as well. They have a total of 4 pools - infinity pool overlooking the ocean, a baby pool next to it, a rock pool which is like a landscape pool as well as one other at the spa area (which is actually unknown to many people... my secret hiding place).

Anyway, the Westin is actually the newly refurbished and renovated Sheraton Perdana where they spent over RM8million on renovations.

After a fruitful day the the Westin, I am really looking forward to spending a weekend there!

carnal cravings

It has been a hectic week and am glad that it is drawing to its end. After the endless number of meetings, updates and paperwork, there is still tons to complete. Oh well, next week lah.



Maybe it is due to all the stress and the insane pace of this week that despite having the fried meehoon and fried kuey teow (RM1; vegetarian, flavourful, filled up a takeaway Styrofoam pack) for breakfast, I had a strange carving for lunch - A&W Root Beer Float.



So off I went to A&W with a colleague and as soon as we paid for our order for the beverage and a pack of fries, we couldn't stop oohing and aahing at the long forgotten float. It has never tasted better!



And I must say that the fries at A&W are actually by far the best fries served at a fast food place. They are like a cross between the usual fries and the curly wurly ones sold at MacD's during CNY. Yummy!



Anyway, after the meal, I felt happy. Could have be the float or that at the very moment, it was four hours before the weekend actually begins... go figure

singapura, o singapura

Like every Monday, as the beginning of a work week, the pace is relatively sluggish and slow. More is required to get the engine revved up to speed. Strangely for me, Tuesday was a slow day too. Not slow in the sense that there is no work, but on the contrary, so much work that you become frazzled and don't know where and how to start. Tired.

Rushed off to my kickboxing class after work. Tired.

Husband called to say that there has been a change of plans pertaining to dinner. Will pack food for me instead of having me to cook (very kind of him coz I was exhausted after all the kicking and punching). Lovely.

He came home with a packet of Singapore Fried MeeHoon that was certified scrumptious by his so-called good friend/foodie. And after wolfing that down (of course, husband had to take a few mouthfuls like how he couldn't resist the Maggi moment), I was happy and contented. It was indeed delicious. All I ever had were makeshift, almost there version of this simple yet absolutely mind-blowing dish. Another testimony that its the simple pleasures in life that brings the greatest joy.

When asked about the restaurant's whereabouts, he could only say that it was somewhere in Kepong. He couldn't give any directions to the place??!!

So, my conclusion : Women can win men thru their stomach; men have a long was to go if they wanna try. . .

Enjoy while I track down the elusive MeeHoon.

new identity

Remember my previous blog where I mentioned about having to attend a dreadful workshop on presentation skills, blah, blah. Well, I did and I survived, and with a new acquired skill.

On Friday, I had to get ready earlier than usual to beat the jam as the workshop was at JW Marriot. I swung by my friend place to give her a lift to work at 6.45am and slowly made our way down town. All in all, I was at the Marriot at 7.30am, a tad too early actually but better early than ridiculously late (one participant arrived an hour and a half late from the traffic).

The class only had 7 participants mostly from the PR and Marketing department. I, of course had to choose to sit further back; didn't want to appear to Eager Beaver, but in a class of 7 how lah...Anyway chose to sit as distant as possible.

Our trainer was an American guy who was extremely energetic to a point where all his antics and mannerism reminded me so much of Steve Carrell (40 Year Old Virgin). Instead of the usually presentation with slides and slides and more slides via Powerpoint, he made us role play the various posture/identity that was showcased. It was fun.

Anyway, the only thing that was lacklustre was lunch at My Thai at Shook! that was organised by the The Asia Business Forum. We had a mango salad (not great), tom yam (so-so), a thai fried rice (worst of the lot) and a dessert of sago and 2 honeydew melon 'balls' in coconut milk (not bad). We were definitely expecting a few more dishes but we disappointed. The workshop cost over RM1K but lunch was less than RM50 per person. Sad. Scrupulous and totally unprofessional. Even the trainer was surprised.

All in all, if you set the disapointing lunch aside, it was definitely a day well spent at a workshop. New skill, new thrill...

comfort food

After my session at the gym last night, I was famished. On my way back, my husband called to ask me whether I was cooking and what. After hearing what I had to say, he said never mind, he will get his own dinner. OK lor.

My thoughts started to wonder and finally settled on my favourite comfort food of all time, curry MAGGI mee complete with veg and a poached egg. (Just a note for all those who don't quite understand a woman's psyche, our choice of comfort food differs from day to day due to our hormonal change in our body as well as many other contributing factors). This 2-minute wonder has been my companion on many lonely nights.

Yesterday, I tried their latest flavour for MAGGI, the lagi pedas curry. And it did have more kick to it than the usual curry flavour.

Anyway, I also tried out this tip my mum gave me on how to make the perfect poached egg without any fanciful apparatus. All you have to do is crack one egg into a bowl of water at room temperature and set a pot of water to boil. Oncethe water is boiling, gently pour the egg in and let it boil for the next 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the egg. The scoop, drain and voila, a perfect poached egg!

As I settled in front of the telly to watch this week's installment of Heroes, my husband couldn't resist and took several mouthfuls of soup, silently regretting his earlier decision to 'tau-pau'.

yeah, let's go kickboxing

Still recovering my my aches, I am more geared up than ever to go for my classes today. The workout not only peels the pounds off you, it is also great for release of stress. The only thing that I do need to prepare for are bruised knuckles. No hand wraps can really protect your hands but my kick boxing buddy did say that she has got compliments from people saying that the bruises come from punching the right way.

No pain, no gain.

makan-makan @ Lake Club

Last night, my husband and I had dinner with his colleague and his family at the chinese restaurant at the Lake Club.

Old settings but somehow still cozy and had a very nice feeling to the place. Nothing really to shout about the ambience because the place is old but nonetheless for a Tuesday night, the place was quite busy.

We had quite a feast too. On the table were a kerabu style Thai chicken, okra/longbean/brinjal stir fried with sambal, sweet and sour fish (was not fresh but was replaced with a steamed patin teochew style), taufoo cubes with broccoli, butter prawns and vegetarian claypot stew. Dessert were red bean paste pancake and peanut soup.

The food was so-so. But the real surprise came from how my husband reacted to the peanut soup. I have never been fond of this dessert and presumed that my husband wouldn't like it too but he raved about it on the way home.

All in all, it was a pleasant evening. Great company, ok food, cozy settings.

By the way, we spotted Ida Nerina at the next table with her family. Cool!

de-shell

No, this entry is not about shellfish of any kind.

I have to attend a workshop this Friday on some PR/Media thingy focusing on presentation and projecting one's charisma and personality??!!

I don't mind attending but am quite daunted by the presentation bit. You see, I am such an introvert and a timid person as a whole that I very much prefer to stay in the background. Wallpaper. I don't mind. Just keep me away from having to speak in public.

The silver lining from all this is that I can go for drinks at Starhill right after the workshop.

We will see what the outcome is after I come out of my shell on Friday... maybe then I will start to be a cam whore... NOT!!!

kick and box

After a one month hiatus from my kickboxing classes, going back to class yesterday was tough. Besides my lazy self giving a host of different excuses, I did for a split moment hesitated. But I prevailed. I went for class.


It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I punched and kicked as hard and frequent as I could and I was amazed that I actually could endure the entire class. But of course I cut corners aka cheated. Instead of every kick or punch, I did every other kick and punch. And since some combinations were less strenuous than others, I did every count of those.I perspired like crazy as usual after the intense workout but felt good after that. I guess like every task that we undertake. The first step is usually the most difficult; thereafter EASY PEASY. I don't know when I will have the stamina and guts to join the senior class. Soon perhaps.

marching to marche

Last Saturday, I took my parents and my aunt and cousin to Marche @ the Curve. Good thing I made a reservation otherwise probably had to wait for our table.

Since we have been to Marche in HK and SG, the concept wasn't new to us but deciding what to eat did take us a while. Finally we settled for the following :-
Dad : Grilled Salmon with mash and coleslaw/Root Beer
Mum : Rosti/Sauteed Mushroom/Orange Juice
Aunt: Grilled Salmon with mash and coleslaw/Ice Kacang
Cuz : Roast Chicken with mash and coleslaw/Ice Kacang
Me : Rosti/Salad/Root Beer

Total : RM147.83

The verdict from the individuals :

Dad : Enjoyed fish thoroughly. Quite large portion. No unnecessary sauces to mask natural taste of fish. Root beer was very good.
Mum : Rosti was good and so were the mushroom. Orange juice was ok, not diluted. Root beer was yummy; reminiscing of A&W
Aunt : Good. Everything good.
Cuz : Chicken delicious. Value for $. Very filling. Ice Kacang was OK.
Me : Rosti was good. Salad ok but too pricey. Root beer was good.

All in all, it was a decent meal. At RM30 per pax, the value was not bad. But compared to our initial plan to makan at Lala Chong (changed venue due to rain), we probably could have ordered Marmite crab/Steamed fish/2 veg/Lala and a tofu dish plus drinks instead of the many potato dishes. Pales in comparison actually but...

Different cuisine, different selection, different ambience. Eventually it is not what you eat lah, its who your company are and how much you enjoy being with them.

Next weekend, planning another makan with parents. Have not decided yet but want to take them on another culinary adventure.

Happy eating.

pain killer

Isn't it strange that no matter how much you brush and floss, visiting the dentist is totally unavoidable??!!

The pain started Thursday on both my upper and lower molars but lasted only till the night time. On Friday morning, pain started on my upper tooth. Took a panadol but the throbbing was still there. No choice had to pay a visit to the dentist.

After waiting in line for about 40mins, exposed to the sound of the drill and air flushing apparatus, trying to calm my nerves with sudoku was difficult.

After all the waiting, consultation, treatment, etc, went home. Felt slight pain and was told not to chew on the infected side for a few days. Infection of some sort he reckons.

Monday morning. Feels better. Will go back mid week to confer with dentist again.

Wonder what is worse; the toothache or the sudden shock of pain that happens ever so often when the drill touches your nerves... go figure.

bye, bye CNY

Can hardly fathom that the last day of CNY is this SUNDAY! sob! sob! Not that I am such a fan of CNY but this celebration do give us alot more excuse to gather to makan, minum and main... hey 3Ms.

Somehow, there has been a lack of fireworks as the Star newspaper highlighted, definitely less lion dance and not quite as loud and boisterous as the previous years.

Anyways, Gong xi, Gong Xi and let's look forward to the next 3M session soon.

senang menang

Come one, come all....

It's senang menang time! All you have to do is drop by KL Sentral, purchase anything at any amount (there is no minimum purchase required) and enter the senang menang contest organised by LG and KL Sentral.

Answer two very simple questions and you may walk home (contest ends end April) with the latest LG Time Machines Plasma, mobiles phones and other pretty cool prizes. No loss. No sweat. Easy Peasy.

All the Best!

dinner menu

Last night I had a craving for prawns- deepfried, sauteed, steam or simply stir fried. No preference, just give me PRAWNS! So off I went to buy some at Cold Storage.

I managed to whip up 4 dishes accompanied by white rice all under 60mins. The dishes that were cooked in lighting time were :-

i) Choy Sum with Garlic
Wash Choy Sum and cut into two lengthwise
Finely chop garlic
Then in hot pan add cooking oil (1 tbsp)
Followed by the garlic till lightly browned
Add salt
Add choy sum
Stir fry for about 3 mins
Plate

ii) Tom Yam Fish Cake by DODO (Umm, brand name of product lah)
Defrost
Pan fry
Plate

iii)Tofu with Garlic
Remove tofu from plastic container
Gently pour water over it to clean any foreign particles
Heat up (Steam/microwave - Optional)
Finely chop garlic
Plate tofu
Drizzle light and dark soya sauce for taste
Then in hot pan, add cooking oil (1tbsp)
Add chopped garlic
Fry till lightly browned
Pour oil and garlic over tofu

iv) Prawns and Onion in Hot Bean Paste
De-shell prawns and remove intestine
Marinate with a bit of sugar
Remove skin from onion in cut into quarters
Heat pan and add 2tbsp of cooking oil
Add onion and fry till translucent
Add prawns and stir fry
Add 2 tbsp of hot bean paste (bought at Korean supermarket; originally used for kimchi soup)
Mix well
Add 4 tbsp of water
Mix well
Add 2 tbsp of chili sauce
Mix well
Plate

***

And before I started on my 4 dishes, I managed to squeeze in time to cook rice. Whew! Like running a marathon man! In between my workout at the kitchen, I had to attend to phone calls and nature calls, all sorts of calls keep interfering my otherwise (what-would-have-been 30mins) cooking time.



For all those who cook regularly, you know that cooking time is much less compared to the prep time; but what to do... unless you are a chef in a restaurant or have a maid, you can't run away from prep work lor. Have to one leg kick

Anyway, we polished off the food in less than 30 mins. Very satisfying and gratifying.

***

Rating from husband : 8/10