: : Iron Chef : :

After tonite's episode of Iron Chef on ntv7.

Granny : Wah! I want to eat like that! Got any place in Kuching cook like that ah?

Wena : Errrr... don't think so lah!

Granny : Haiya! She is good wor!

The contenders were Katsuyo Kobayashi (Japanese TV Cooking Personality) and Chen Kenichi (Iron Chef). Winner was Kobayashi with her amazing menu of 7 dishes compared to Kenichi's 4! Looks like home-style cooking reigns supreme. I sort of kesian (pity) Kenichi as it's the 2nd time a woman has between him.

And the diminutive housewife creates 1,000 recipes every year! Wah! 3 recipes a day! She was shouting "Get me an iron pan! No non-stick pan!!" It was a good laugh and she had so much energy moving around.

Right, now to add her cookbook as the first book to my WishList!

: : Slow Saturday : :

Pretty slow today after such a rush rush week. Woke up late and started the day so slow.



Wena : Aik! What's in the soup for lunch?

Granny : Some mangkuang (hikama) from China.

Wena : Hmmm... taste like yam but more fibre lah!

Granny : Yalor! Very hard to find one. Only during CNY can find one!

All she did was boiled the yam with pork. You can prepare it with chicken.



Later on, we went to a nearby bakery, Mita Cake House to get some bread and decided to buy some sandwiches as well as Layer Cake (my addiction, HB). Left is the tuna sandwich and right is the egg sandwich.



Wena : Hmm...wonder how heavy the cake is since it's RM21.

Granny : Ah! I got toy to measure weight one! Wait ah! I cari (find) !



Granny : Nah! See? 1 kilo!

: : Places Meme : :

Well, sort of a meme anyway. Inspired by Steph to do something similar.

Bold = Places I've visited
Bold + Italics = Places I've lived
* = where I live now

States in Malaysia

1. Kuala Lumpur : Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory)
2. Negeri Sembilan
3. Johor
4. Kedah
5. Kelantan
6. Melaka
7. Pahang
8. Perak
9. Perlis
10. Pulau Pinang
11. Sabah
12. Sarawak*
13. Selangor
14. Terengganu
15. Labuan : Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory)
16. Langkawi : : Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory) - Is it under the Federal Territory? Not sure.

Hmm...still have a long ways to complete the list.

: : Refresh my memory : :

technoLAHgist : btw
technoLAHgist : i found out that you know alex yong
technoLAHgist : hahaha
technoLAHgist : thought that was funny
technoLAHgist : and a small world
Wena : hahahah
Wena : haven't spoken to him in a long time
Wena : knew him thru irc
Wena : but lost contact
Wena : u met up wit him izzt?
technoLAHgist : i've known him for a while, a drinking buddy
technoLAHgist : and he mentioned your name with regards to friendsters
Wena : friendsters? hmmm....
technoLAHgist : and i was "what? since when you started reading blogs?"
technoLAHgist : hahaha
Wena : aik?
Wena : hmm...maybe wrong alex
technoLAHgist : but he still remembers you....
Wena : when?!?
technoLAHgist : aiyo
Wena : who is this alex ah?
technoLAHgist : you banyak boyfriend liau
Wena : piak piak piak (whack whack whack)
Wena : friendsters damn slow lah
Wena : alex yong...hmmm....
Wena : who is this person
Wena : is he on my friendster or yours?
technoLAHgist : supposedly on yours too
technoLAHgist : no pic on mine
Wena : he is?
Wena : i recall seeing the name on thestar
Wena : but dun remember getting interviewed
Wena (: for what article? bizarre
technoLAHgist : he said he interviewed you as you were in Marcom?
technoLAHgist : were you?
Wena : good lord NO LAH
Wena : who is this dude lah
Wena : hehehe
Wena : getting curious now
technoLAHgist : eh
technoLAHgist : woah
technoLAHgist : wrongly connected
technoLAHgist : check your friendsters
technoLAHgist : he's a writer
Wena : my friendsters?
technoLAHgist : yeah
technoLAHgist : supposedly you invited him
technoLAHgist : kakakakak
Wena : i did?
Wena : cannot remember lah
Wena : i have a lot of friends but seldom keep in contact lah
technoLAHgist : maybe your split personality did it
Wena : piak
Wena : friendsters damn slow lah
Wena : alex yong...hmmm....
Wena : who is this person
Wena : is he on my friendster or yours?
technoLAHgist : supposedly on yours too
technoLAHgist : no pic on mine
Wena : he is?
Wena : i recall seeing the name on thestar
Wena : but dun remember getting interviewed
Wena : for what article? bizarre

So, Alex Yong, have we met? Because, honestly speaking, I don't remember. That's the problem with meeting too many people as one ages.

: : Table of Condiments : :

...that periodicaly go bad... hahaha!

: : myBuddies.net : :

Because Ray mentioned it, the link this friendly forum is here.

Ginger also found a huge hermit crab near the beach too.

: : Granny speaks on hamsters : :

Wena : Bebe, the brown one, wants to be the escape artist. Always looking for ways out of the cage. Now she can climb out of the cage on my arm!

Granny : Yalah! That one always bite me one! Eh! Your other one very suku (gullible) lah! Never fight one.

Then we burst out laughing. Seriously, Dede (grey one) is so quiet and too trustworthy. When we said suku, we meant it in a humourous manner.

No hamsters were hurt in this posting. Not even their pride! Haha!

: : Queso Sauce : :

Was thinking hard what to blog about today when I found a stash of pictures from my US trip still not posted yet. So, am presenting to you a great dish wonderfully cooked by my sister's fiance, Donnie : QUESO SAUCE! A great tasting cheese dip that goes well with corn chips. Believe me, I'm addicted to corn chips.



The great thing about this dip is that you need a crock pot to do most of the cooking as well as a frying pan. Donnie added in a huge chunk of cheddar cheese and Jalapenos, I think. Can't quite remember what we added in. Anyway, I think it was a sauce of Jalapenos and onions. Do not use the normal red chillis found in Asia but rather, the sour-iest kind of chilli is a lot better for this.



Set the heat settings to LOW and watch as the entire block of cheese start to melt and the Jalapenos softening.



Then he started frying up the beef. Was it beef ham or salted beef chunks? Can't can't can't quite remember. Never did write everything down. Donnie, HELP! Once the beef was cooked, he added it into the crock pot and mixed everything all up.



The final dish! Yeah yeah, looks pretty gross and sticky but was worth it. Pour it over some corn chips and voila! A tasty snack for the coach potato. Definitely addictive and for watching movies or just the telly.

: : Yee Sang and Polling : :

Renee has revealed to everyone how to make yee sang! Yum! So, for those of you who were trying to look for a yee sang recipe in this blog can adjourn to hers to find out how it's made. Really spectacular and great! A friend told me to make vegetarian yee sang is to substitute the raw fish with fried wantan skins.

If you like yee sang, how about filling in the CNY poll? So far, only 54 ppl have voted. Peculiar... thought there would be more people. Anyway, here's the poll again!

: : 4th day of CNY : :

Okay, so I'm jumping back and forth with my postings for CNY. Forgot that I had these pics lying somewhere in the mum-mum pic folders. I went to visit a lovely couple from KL who were back visiting family. Also brought along Henry (a teddy bear made from Build-A-Bear) which I got for their son from the USA. Of course, we would have to wait for him to be born first.





Ah How : Here! Try some! Cannot find anywhere else!

Wena : *munch*munch* Taste familiar lah! Know it's not halal but cannot place it lah!

Ah How : Aiya! It's homemade Kai Chai Peng (Chicken biscuits). My auntie make one. Cannot find anywhere else. You probably had the thicker version from Kampar.

Wena : Oh ya! That's rite! This is better!

I regretted not asking to tapau (get a doggie bag) some of the biscuits before leaving them.



Wena : Oohh! So cute! The little round biscuits (center) look like those old Chinese coins.

Pegs : Haha!

Wena : Cheese biscuits (lower right) and the pineapple tarts (looks like a porcupine, middle right) tastes so good.

Pegs : Here! These are also cheese biscuits.



Wena : Oohh! My favourite! (Yeah yeah... I love CNY cookies alrite).

Pegs : Ooppss! Someone makan (eat) most of it lah. I refill for you to enjoy.

Wena :

CNY is all about eating and eating and eating. Thankfully, no one made me suffer through any drinking sessions.

: : Ayam Masak Merah (continuation) : :

Granny : Wah! So many different recipes lah! Which one to try ah? Eh, how come some no tomato sauce one ah?

Wena : Dunno. Try lor!

Granny : Ok ok ok ok... we see which one better, ok? Must buy tomato paste in tin one!

Ayam Masak Merah is a wonderful Malay dish that means Chicken cooked in Red. A favourite amongst many Malaysians and others too!

: : 7th day of CNY : :



Granny : Must eat must eat! 7 types of veggie inside!

Wena : Wah! My favourite! What's inside ah?

Granny : Guess guess!

Wena : *munch*munch* Hmmm.... leek, celery, pak choi (Chinese lettuce), cangkuk manis (mani chai), chai sim. Eh! Dunno what the other 2 are lah!

Granny : Haha! Your Kuku (Uncle) also cannot tell lah!

Wena : Dunno lah! What what?

Granny : One is ku chai (Chinese chives) which I grow in garden. Other one is leaf from the kailan (Chinese broccoli) I bought last time. (Note : last time she went to the market)

Wena : Very nice lah!

Granny : I tell you ah! So difficult to think think what veggie to masak (cook) lah!

: : Old childhood friends : :

Calling home.

Daddy : By the way, I met up with the Chin sisters on Monday at their Dad's house.

Wena : Really? Cool.

Daddy : Ya! The eldest said that they both visited your blog every day!

Wena : Wah! Hee hee!

Daddy : And the eldest took me aside to introduce me to the young man by her side as "This man is Wena's father. She maintains that mum-mum blog."

Wena : Hahaha!

Hello A and L! Long time no see! We eat dim sum together one day in Miri, k?

: : Request from Granny : :

Granny : I dunno how to cook ayam masak merah ah. Ask your pals on your computer (she meant visitors to my blog).

So, anyone? She's been wanting to know how to cook it PROPERLY and has tried countless times throughout her life but could never do it.

Feel free to drop a line in the comment section or drop me an email.

Thanks!

: : Temptation to make a person drool for the entire 14 days of CNY : :

Ginger has put up enough pictures to feed the hungry eyes of everyone in her posting.

Wah! Be forewarned!

via shiokadelicious

: : Teaser : :





wits0 is on a roll.

: : Shoot the bamboo! : :



Wena : Wei! What's in the pot outside ah?

Granny : Bamboo shoots lah! But old dry one from China! Only come once a year during CNY. But for sure you don't like one. Very keras (hard)!

Wena : Aik! Try try mah!

Granny : Aiya! Very hard one. Have to soak in water long long time. Need to change water somemore.

Next day.



Wena : Wah! Cook already ah?

Granny : Yeah lah! But sure you don't like one.

Wena : *munch munch* Aiyo! So keras (hard) one!

Granny : Yalah! Tell you one, don't want to listen.

Wena :

: : Is my blog burning? : :



Alberto came up with a very good idea. Sounds good. Wonder if I can get away with steamboat as a winter dish? Easy to do mah!

: : 2nd day of CNY : :

Still raining on the 2nd day but I still made my way to another collegue's house. As well as some more goodies. There is a correlation in the Chinese community during CNY : every CNY, people's weight will increase drastically!



Oh! My favourite! But Granny didn't order any this year. Sob sob sob! These are miniature spring rolls/egg rolls but the filling is dried prawn that has been pounded with some chilli. Ohhh! So nice! Should have put this in the poll but oh well. Never mind.



Mouth-watering alrite. Another type of dried cuttlefish but still sweet and spicy. Yum yum! These things are expensive you know!



I think these were dried soya bean but not sure. Still, very tasty but very filling at the same time!



Cashew nuts! Eat them by the kilos! Hahaha! Surprisingly, it's cheaper in the USA compared to here. Mum brings back a lot everytime she comes back home.

That's it for the 3rd day! Went back home and suddenly, had a lot of ppl visiting. So, was rushing around a bit.

Granny : Wei! Where my kong (container) with money ah? Have to pack ang pows since got children lah!

Wena : Ah! I go get it.

Granny : Nah! Here! (Passes me ang pow packets) You quickly pack pack ah!

Wena : Ok ok ok ok...

That was the highlight of the day. Granny forgot to pack some ang pow packets that morning. Hahaha!

: : KWB supposed pipe burst : :

Fell asleep after dinner on the coach so didn't get the frantic phonecalls and messages until 10:30 p.m. as handphone was upstairs. Allegedly, there was a pipe burst and that the water supply was interrupted

Make a few calls to check. The pump is down lah! Not a pipe burst.

Getting SMSes like crazy to store water. Water pressure is down but still have supply lah! Just a bit slower. Besides, if you have a water tank, you would have about 1-2 days supply. But will depend on how large is one's household. Just don't go washing your car or wash too many plates!! Luckily, it only hpapened today and not during the 1st and 2nd day of CNY! Chalat then!

Not that this info will get out throughout the whole populace. Not that many ppl are wired to the internet in Kuching but hey, at least some information here.

On another note, I heard from a friend long ago that there was this couple in Klang who used to empty out their water tank just before a water shortage and refilled it up. Their excuse? To clean up the tank.

: : Googling for food pictures : :

It's a bit unnerving that for the past few days, a lot of ppl were hit onto this site by images.google.com or images.yahoo.com .

So, if it's you who are lifting the pictures off this site, bear in mind it's polite to ask for permission first!

: : CNY Poll : :







Update : Have also shifted the poll to the right of the website.

: : Beep beep! : :

wits0 is working overtime today.



You want a free dinner after this?

: : 1st Day of CNY ~ Part IV : :

Alrite, now back to the 1st Day of CNY. Last batch of pictures from the house visits. This time, it was to my cousin Mei Ai's place.



Wena : Wah! Got animal shaped cookies some more! Got bumble bee and mice! Carrot again!

Mei Ai : See the white one to the right of the carrot? That one is called mushroom?

Wena : Aik! Sure or not? Look like something different lah! Turnip?

Mei Ai : Nope. Called mushroom.



Wena : Hmm... the layer cake is nice lah.

Felix : Have some more!

Wena : Wei! Putting on weight during CNY lah!



Felix : Here! Reserved for non-Muslims.

Wena : Haha! Separate container ah? Easier to hide eh?

Felix : It's not nice to offer them this lah!

Wena : Is this vegetarian floss? (The light brown stuff)

Felix : Nope. That's the pork version.



Mei Ai : Here! Have some.

Wena : Can't live without marshmellows, eh?

Mei Ai :

My eating visiting spree for the 1st day of CNY. Didn't go to many houses after that. Bit lazy lah! I spent about 3 hours at Mei Ai's and Felix's house watching a Thai movie called Ong Bak. Good looking actor and great action scenes. His actual voice was a bit of a disappointment though. Dubbed the next Jackie Chan.

: : Domestication of You is Stupid : :

GraceShu is seriously looking to please her (potential?!?) mother-in-law. After making love letters, she's now making braised duck!

Scary.

Updates : Someone speaketh.

Still scary. For guys that is.

: : World Travel : :



create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

This was fun. Only visited 10 countries (4%). Not the WHOLE country but parts of it lah!

: : Super Model Meat Sports : :

It's ham, salami with potato salad and huge watermelon!

The two ladies are decoration.

Can't remember where I found the link.

: : Faux fur : :



My mother : Wow, look like a Chinese movie star.

Sniffles : like a happy and cheeky chinese movie star

Hahaha!

: : Morning : :

Yeah, it's morning time. Woke up at 9 a.m. which is considered extremely early for the weekend. Blame it on the rain. It's been pouring for the 4 days of CNY. Definitely puts a damper on the CNY mood here, especially since Granny didn't make any of her acar!

Reading the papers this morning brought along more sad news. Every year during this period, there would be stories of landslides and people fleeing their flooded homes. Sarawak Tribune site has not been updated since 21 January 2004 so there is a discontinuity there.

Now, whether to eat Italian today or not? Pastalog got me hungry last nite.

: : Pastalog : :

Tempting pictures all the way! However, it's only that but definitely mouthwatering! Slurp!

Why must they be so tempting? Sigh... This particular picture was such a cliche.. haha!

: : A Little Blue House : :

Found a link to Emily's and Chris' blog on their journey to own their own bakery called Artisan Bread Bakery. Their bakery website doesn't seem to be up at the moment so am waiting for it to come back online.

via the comment at the Food Section

: : 3rd day ~ A Nonya's Memories : :

Fast forward to the 3rd day of CNY. Yeah yeah, 2nd day not covered but wait first lah!

Woke up really late this morning becoz of the stomach and bladder problems of last nite. Thank goodness for cranberry pills. Anyway, we were talking about nonya cooking and nonya's in general :

Granny : Wei! Kuku told me about that nonya cooking article in the newspaper. So, I cook lor!

Wena : Cannot wait to eat izzit?



Granny : Inside the article, they talk about this dish. Wah! Long time I haven't cook lah!

Wena : Errr... ok. I dun like cooked cucumber so much lah!

Granny : Try lah!

Wena : OK ok lah! Mmm...mmm... you put some sambal ah?

Granny : No lah! Only put in chilli and vinegar and soy sauce lah! That's the trick. Nonya people like masam (sour) cooking lah. Also, must be spicy one! Otherwise, cannot makan lah!



Wena : Wah! This is nice lah! Sweet and sour prawn!

Granny : Yah lah! Need to put in tomato lah! Otherwise not sour enough. But I didn't put in assam this time.

Wena : Still, very nice leh!



Wena : Eh! You cook porridge today izzit?

Granny : Yah lah! Your kuku (uncle) ask to eat lor.

Wena : Ok, I eat with the chai sim lah. So nice and crunchy! (As well as sweet and sour at the same time. Chai sim @ Chinese cabbage)



Granny : You want some salted egg with porridge ah?

Wena : No lah! Too many things to eat! (There were the mangkuang, cabbage, duck with soy sauce, potatoes. A lot lah!)

And, we sat down and chatted about her younger days back in Penang. I just found out that I'm a very rojak Chinese with mixtures of Hokkien, Fuchow and Teochew blood in me. Also, seems like Granny's relatives are still in Penang although we never really kept in touch with them. I wonder if they're reading this blog. Have to check with Granny what are their names.

Since we're on the topic of Nonya cooking, I must see if the book Nonya Flavours is available in the Kuching bookstores. Else, it's going to be an order via MPH (and having to pay an extra RM10 for the courier service). Seems a bit more pricey in the bookstores in Singapore though. This article was especially fun to read where the reporter was talking about the different types of food found in Nonya cooking.

Going to town tomorrow and see if the bookstores are open or not.

: : More graphics from wits0 : :



Now this was good... hehehe! The fruit flan was definitely a nice picture.

wits0 is getting better and better with PSP8. So, when are you going to start your own photoblog ah? We're all waiting lah!