Play hard

Mooncake festival is just around the corner. Last night I went to ah ong's house to learn how to make mooncake. That was the plan.



What initially happened was that most of them had fun trouble pressing/kneading the dough. And we made a mess out of ah ong's kitchen. Sorry! At least some of them helped in cleaning up.


Ah boon looking serious here.


The failures.


The ones that passed. Not bad for amateurs eh.


Baby happy with his creation.


This actually looks pretty presentable..I don't know who made this.

In case you're wondering, I didn't make any. I was the photographer. Why? Cos I just did my nails the night before, and no way am I ruining them so fast:


Click for larger image and zoom in on the nails. Cue bimbo. Actually I only like the oven baked mooncakes. I don't eat these cold skinned ones. I only took a tiny bite out of one that cs fed me simply because he made it. And hastily went to swallow some water (sorry baby).

Song of the moment:



Hazard by Richard Marx. Simply beautiful.

Damai Puri

Before 2009, I have not been to Damai since 10 years ago? Or more than that. Come 2009, and I don't remember how many times have I been to Damai Beach and Damai Puri. And it is not even December yet. What is wrong with me?

Over the long Raya weekend, I went to Damai Puri yet again. This time with the family, and some friends. Oh well since nothing much has been going on in my life, I shall bore you all with lots of Damai photos.



The parents at Buntal for dinner. Winnie was just telling me the other day that our family and relatives (on both sides) all drink and dance and some are really good singers. We are not the type of family with smart, outstanding students (those who score 15 straight A's or something silly like that, win a scholarship sponsored by our nice govt, and go overseas to study, and come back as I don't know doctors etc..) We are the type who knows how to have fun. This makes us sound pretty useless eh..


My very nice siblings and mum bought this for me from Taiwan. Let me quote mum: Its not for you to wear. You can hang it in your room as a souvenir. what the hell man. Souvenir to the alcoholic in the family. They only realized after buying the slipper that it reads Chicken, not Heineken! I imagine they must be pretty excited and laughing to themselves upon discovering this gift for me.


Here we are locked out of the room. After checking in, we realized that we could not open the door with out card-key. The other 2 rooms were working fine. Kev, winnie, cs and I were staying in this room. Yes cs. Surprisingly mum invited cs along with us. He slept on the same bed as me! My God. I don't know what came into mum.



So we did the usual. Stayed in the room to start drinking alcohol in the afternoon (dad and ah pau), played cards (winnie, kevin, ah pau, and I), use the Wifi (wendy), check out the gym (daniel and danny), or sleep supposedly (mum and dad). It was cloudy around 5pm, so we all changed and went to the beach and pool, respectively. I have still failed to take photos by the pool in a bikini. Sigh. I wonder when will I remember to bring the camera with me to the pool? After so many times to Damai, I still fail..



The guys who didn't make it to the pool. Later that night Kevin told me: waahh mi the sea water soo salty. My throat and eyes hurt like shit. I opened my mouth and swallowed so much water. He didn't finish complaining to which I burst out laughing: dumbass. why did you open your mouth to drink the sea water in the first place? I got punched by him after that..



So what else. Since it was Raya holidays, the resort was fully booked. Everywhere was packed. The pool, the beach, the slide at the children's pool which we were all eyeing. I managed to get on around 7pm. That is when I realized that while wearing a bikini, it is not very advisable to go down a kids slide. Things fall: namely my bikini bottoms. Screw. I watched cs and winnie have fun..



Breakfast the following morning was terrible. We (5) of us walked in and handed in our coupons. We were nodded in, and left to find out own seating. There were no tables. Everywhere was full. There were litter on the floor, eggs, toast, beans. Yuck. The tables were dirty and a mess. We stood by a table (quite a scene ok, we standout a bit) and a waitress came to clean off the previous person's mess. We pulled chairs from other tables. We waited for our cutlery to arrive. We went to get food.

The horror. The serving spoon had fallen into the scrambled eggs tray. There were no glasses at all for the drinks. The sausages were nowhere to be seen. I wanted toast and joined the very long queue for them. I want eggs too and joined the very long queue. 15 mins later I get my food from the buffet and walked back extremely disappointed. My eggs were swimming in their own very large pool of oil. Thank you for increasing my cholesterol level.





I had a good time this time around. Short 2 days, one night trip but still had fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I first met Shirley at IBMS college: The first week of college, in Foundation C. We first talked in the cafeteria. The first thing she said to me was: Amy, why are you so quiet? My first impression of her was someone louder and much more confident than me. Someone popular and daring who speaks her mind. We were in the same group of friends in Kuching for 2 - 3 years. Yet we were never close. We were only close when we decided to go to London together.


At KLIA before departure.

I had no qualms on going to study in London with Shirley. At the time, we were friends. We were the "go shopping together, yamcha-ing occasionally friends" Not really the type who would have any heart to heart session over "my bf cheated on me". I didn't think so much about it. We had our own secrets but I thought that Shirley was fun to be around and I could get along well with her. Haha. On the other hand, she later told me she was skeptical about staying with me. She thought I was some spoiled rich brat.

We only got close in London cos we were two friends in a strange land. We had no one else but the two of us. No friends and family. Just a 25kg luggage. Time to grow up! Over the years we supported each other through the walks of life. Settling in London. Found a place to stay.



Found jobs.



Got through exams



and graduation..


Supported each other through the lousy guys that come in and out of our lives..Started drinking, getting drunk and wasted. Supported each other still..





And were happy for each other over the ones that stayed..



We have our own lives now. Now that we are apart for God knows how long, I don't want to forget her. I know that you are happy now where you are. Chris will take care of you.

Come back to visit asap!

I miss you and Nifer and all those times we had together.











Over the years, we have grown so close, even closer than sisters I think. More like lovers minus the sex part. I know what she likes and what she prefers to avoid. I know what pisses her off, and she knows what makes me impatient and angry. I know where we would both choose to go to eat, and she knows when not to force me to eat. I know that she takes her time to go to work in the morning thus she is almost always late (still?), and she knows how impatient I get when I have to wait for others..

It isn't easy making friends, especially now that we are all grown up. Especially true friends that will always have your back, supporting you even when you don't know what you yourself are doing.. I never call Shirley. Not once since I came back. But (I HOPE) she knows that I miss and love her as much as she does! HAHA.

LOVE YOU ANAK LIEW!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! MANY HAPPY RETURNS!

To brother-in-law: treat her good u hear? :D

Mambo jumbo

The past 4 days were work-free days, due to Hari Raya holidays. Everyone goes back to work tomorrow (Wed). Nice long holiday. Most people rest more during the holidays, no? But I feel that I get sick after the holidays most of the time. Am I playing too hard? I seem to regard every non-working day as an opportunity to do something other than spend time at home, watching tv, in front of the computer, playing silly Facebook games. I.e. raising a farm, creating a virtual pet and decorating its crib, running a restaurant etc.. No offense to anyone, just my point of view. Furthermore, I get bored very easily. I cannot sit in front of the computer hours at a time, watching endless drama series and movies. Maybe there's something wrong with me hmm...

1) Surprisingly though, I didn't drink that much this long weekend. Pretty amazing eh? On Friday night, I went to VA yet again cos it was ah pau's sis' birthday, and he asked us to go as well.


Winnie at our usual table. Too dark never mind.

2) On Saturday night, I went to Pizza Hut at Jalan Song. God the service sucks! Cs and I walked right into the restaurant without waiting for anyone to take us to our seats cos there was no waiters/esses in sight. We plopped down on a table still with leftovers from the previous patrons, cos all the tables had leftovers. We waited for the waitress to notice us. After 5 minutes, I grow impatient and start waving her over. I swear she just ignored me. Her eyes met mine and she continued her walk, totally ignoring me. This happened 3 times. Fuck I felt like a piece of furniture or a decoration on the wall. I felt so ridiculous and angry. Sigh. Poor thing is blind. Cs and I went to take the menus ourselves, and decided what to order, when she finally decided to walk over and clear the plates and wipe the table. Feeling a bit guilty, I tell her thank u, cos she looked tired. She (finally!!) looked at me and opened her mouth (It can talk) to ask if we would like to order now.

Order we did. Food arrived. We ate. From what I saw, everyone was angry at how long it took to get some attention from the staff. To getting the menu and clearing the tables, to placing place orders, asking for clean plates, knives, to ask for the bill, to take away. Granted, it was a Saturday night. Public holiday some more. Busy. Full house. I know. But still!! At least talk to us. Acknowledge us. We pay for our freaking food and your freaking salary bitch! I'm not even trying to make your life hard. Or being rude to you. Cs was so angry, he said he wished he could slap her so hard. Grr...

Lousy Pizza Hut dinner aside, later that night we went to 175 degrees cafe at Padungan to meet up with friends. Does anyone know that there is a Fish Spa inside the cafe? I wanted to try it (for free) but hmm..taking off your shoes in the middle of the cafe, with people and waiters walking around you feels a bit weird to me. Also, I knew that cs would rather be fucked by gay men than experience a fish spa. He is super ticklish. I have never met anyone (man, woman, or child) who is more ticklish than him. Seriously. He can't even touch the bottom/soles of his own bare feet, let alone soak his feet inside the water with thousands of little fish.

3) Stolen photo of fish spa. The fish are supposed to eat all your "dead meat" (in mandarin). You know, the hard parts of your feet: callouses are they called? Then new skin will regrow and your feet are all nice and pretty.


In Kuching, people used to say that the more ticklish you are, or the more scared you are of being tickled, it means that the more you will love your other half. If this is true, I'm glad I have cs.

4) Later that night, I met up with Winnie and friends at Paragon. It was unplanned and I didn't drink much. Here cs and I were taking care of the table while they went bar hopping, I think.





These photos turn out very freakish looking and blur. My Sony Ericsson T707 totally suck at taking photos. I can't camwhore as much as I used to.

5) These photos were taken with Cherling's phone. I don't know what her phone is but it clearly rocks compared with mine..next time I buy a phone, I should take in on a test in a dark bathroom (makeshift club).


I haven't been out with them for soo long. Sorry!!


The place was packed as usual, but I quite like our spot beside the DJ booth. Albeit the lousy and very loud bass and sound system. Our tables were at a dead end, which means that nobody needs to walk up and down here. I hate the "in-the middle" or "in-between" tables cos it means you're shoved from all sides when people and waiters alike have to walk up and down. To the toilet. To the bar. To meet friends. And also it means that the semi-drunk dancing crowd elbows you all the time from all sides. I sound like such a pro at this (analyzing tables what the hell). Shit I go out too much. And shit I swear too much.


I like this photo. I look slim and cute. Please ignore me. I know that I am vain.

6) On Sunday, it was the first day of Raya. The Simon family routine every first day of Raya is to go to my aunt's house. I have a lot of Malay cousins and relatives.


The first day of Raya is spent stuffing our faces with food. Feasting on Malay food early from the morning till afternoon.

Here are some of the typical food at a Malay house on the first day of Raya. I took the liberty of stealing some photos off google for your viewing pleasure:


This is called Lemang. They are cooked in bamboo sticks like so:



Copied this from Wikipedia: Lemang is a traditional food, originating with the Iban people of Indonesia and Malaysia, which is cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaf to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. Usually prepared for festivities such as Hari Gawai, lemang is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, with salt added for taste.

Normally in Kuching, we buy them like that, in one long bamboo stick. Cut it open at home to eat. The taste? Fragrant coconut rice. Very nice to go with curry..


This is what a typical Beef Rendang would look like. I love Wikipedia. They have everything. Here is a copied version: Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally chicken, mutton, water buffalo, duck, or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava) slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost all the liquid is gone, allowing the meat to absorb the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender. The spices may include ginger, galangal, turmeric leaf, lemon grass and chillies.

Rendang is eaten normally with plain white rice, lemang or ketupat.


Ketupat. It is compressed rice cooked in coconut milk. I don't really like this simply because it isn't as fragrant as lemang.


Curry. This can be easily cooked with either chicken, beef, lamb or even just vegetables (but rare). In Kuching, among the Malays, most curries are quite spicy though it varies with each household.


I went to google kuih lapis and came up with almost nothing. Then I realized these were called kuih lapis SARAWAK. Really? Is it not available in West Malaysia? I have been eating these as a kid, and I didn't know that these are unique to Sarawak. Please correct me if I'm wrong and forgive my ignorance. Kuih lapis comes with a lot of different tastes. The bakers add a lot of flavor into these traditional cakes, such as: blueberry, mint, chocolate, milo, raisin etc. I can't think of anymore. But kuih lapis are eaten during Raya, Gawai, and even chinese new year.

************

This entry is getting too long. So I shall end it here.

Before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SHIRLEY LIEW in advance.

Mexican fiesta

On Saturday, mum decided that she wanted Mexican food. At Riverside: Cafe Majestic. So we made a reservation for 730pm. The place was filled with people, even though the buffet dinner costs about RM65++ per person.





They decorated the venue. There were three people walking around clad in Mexican attire. I don't know man: they were dressed in white, green and red, and wearing cowboy hats, carrying some musical instrument to which I don't know the name of, and singing. I don't think it was English either. The waiters and waitress were all wearing cowboy hats, and addressing my dad with Senor. wtf.



I'm sorry but I'm not the person with a good camera, and who is hardworking enough to take a nice pretty photo of the food when it comes..I'm the person who starts eating as soon as the food is set in front of me. Sorry.



I can provide a summary of the dinner though.

Before the dinner, I thought Mexican food consists of mostly nachos, tortilla wraps, enchiladas, corn, spicy sauces and jalapenos. Well..I was right. There were selections with names such as: Mexican lamb, Mexican fish, Mexican fried rice. Please. The fried rice was normal Chinese fried rice. There was a shrimp salad at the salad bar, with lots of shrimps, olives, and a pretty spicy sauce, but nice.


This is a crispy corn tortilla with fillings of erm..chicken, beans, salad, and potatoes topped with chilli/pepper sauce, tomatoes and lots of cheese. (I think)

The dinner was not something I would want to try again anytime soon. It is not bad, just that my taste buds are not so used to it. Most of the selections were too spicy and/or sour. Or either too bland. I didn't really like it. Also, I thought it was quite pricey. For that price, I would want more selections. More kebabs maybe though I don't like it. More desserts. More whatever..I don't know. More choices..

Then again, please take this with a pinch of salt. I'm a very picky eater.

It is Monday again..

Back to office..



Another week ahead.

Drunken night

Mum's 50th birthday fell on September 4th. Friday. On the day itself, mum and her friends wanted to go to Victoria Arms (VA), which is at Merdeka Palace. By popular belief, the place is filled with old, fat, and unattractive women. Btw, I really hate it when people say that. Have you been to VA before? NO? Then what gives you the right to say that. Ignorant! I go to VA. Winnie goes to VA. Then what are you saying we are fat, old, and ugly? Guys normally answer me with: no lar. of cos not. To which I would answer: so just my mum lar??!!

It is really rude to classify women who go to VA like this. My mum and her very nice group of friends are among these women. I have made a few friends there. (One of them turned out to be my colleague now) They are just the same as you are. Working hard during the day time, five or six days a week. Tired and relieved its Friday night. A night out in town. What's wrong with that? Middle aged women with kids cannot drink alcohol out in public issit?

Ok. Enough. Continue..

A lot of photos ahead.

1) Pretty cupcakes. Winnie bought them off a seller called Lovey Dovey Cupcakes on Facebook. Of all places.





2) We arrived around 730pm and started drinking. For those who don't know, women pay RM15 per entry and get free drinks from 7pm - 9pm. Drinks are inclusive of fruit juice (orange or mango), alcoholic drinks of whiskey, brandy, vodka, gin, rum, beer, or cocktail. Granted they are not of some good, expensive brand. Too much of the whiskey leaves u with a hangover the next day. The brandy sucks. The beer choices are Heineken or Tiger. The cocktail is whatever mixture they have for the night. Normally it tastes pretty good. For that night, the cocktail was a mix of tequila+peach+i dont know.



3) Ze group.


4) Like mother like daughter. I'm going to look exactly like mum in 25 years time. Hah. We are 25 years apart. Fortunately for her, you can't tell that right?? Mum can pass off as a 40 year old still. Lucky for her.



5) Before this photo, Winnie, mum and I were pushing each other in order not to stand in front. Why? Camwhores should know that the person who stands nearest to the camera will have the largest and roundest face, arms etc.. thus the ugliest. God I swear my IQ is decreasing even as I type this.. When did I turn into this bimbo who only cares about her looks?! Since forever.



6) We ordered Pizza from Ristorante Beccari, the Italian restaurant at Merdeka Palace. I think the pizza costs around RM 22. Yum. Delicious. Cheap. And pretty convenient. Just flag a waiter over to bring over the menu and order from him. They will place the order for you via telephone to the restaurant downstairs.



7) Mum's friends brought a choc chip cheesecake for mum. The cheesecake was so creamy and sinful at the same time..





8) We camwhore some more while the alcohol kicks in. Build up our guts to start dancing. The DJ normally plays songs during this time. The band starts to perform at 9pm. No, they do not sing Malay or Indonesian songs. They sing to Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Shakira etc..normal stuff you listen to on Hitz.fm.




9) Alcohol has kicked in already..



10) At 9pm the men come in.


Baby! I ran to hug him when I saw him walking towards our table in front of my mum and her friends. I don't know why. I think its the cheap alcohol. Its not like I was separated that long from him. Just 4 hours. And they snapped a photo of us. The next day mum told me her friends were all asking: when are they getting married?


Dad came in around 10pm, much to everyone's delight. Tipsy mum and a reluctant looking dad.

12) Cs and Alvin


13) Mum was invited up to the stage being birthday girl and all that. The band sang a birthday song for her. The next day, mum said she didn't remember this part haha.




14) In between dancing, Winnie was walking around with a camera the whole night snapping photos of other people in various states of drunken-ess.







16) Dance floor at VA is pretty small, and around 80% of the crowd just sit there watching the dancers. The men come in at 9pm, still sober, meanwhile the women has already started drinking at 7pm. Hence the women are louder and more willing to dance. There are hardly any men on the dance floor at VA. Occasionally though there will be some very good male dancers..

In Kuching, men only dance under three consequences: (1)if they are good at dancing. (2) If they are drunk! (3) If they are part of the shuffle type dance group. This actually falls under the first category.



17) Winnie forces dad to take many photos with us..



18) I mixed way too much drinks. I had whiskey coke as usual for my first glass. The second glass of whiskey coke I asked for tasted foul and suspiciously like brandy so I poured half of it away and drank half. Then I asked for cocktail, which is a mixture of tequila plus god knows what. Then I had Kilkenny and beer. I don't know how many glasses. More than enough I suppose.

Therefore, I don't remember when the two photos below were taken:


Still looks okay right..

19)

But I definitely don't remember this.. why the hell did Winnie kiss me? Look at her hand..she was the one kissing me. Not me her..

Dad and cs were probably the only sober ones among us..