film is a REAL degree

Friday, December 30, 2005

hmmm...

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything.
You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey.
You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.
What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

then why is my blog still green...?

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

back in a freezing cold coventry

i'm back in coventry and the first thing one always notices on the plane is that there seems to be a massive amount of clouds over the UK when everywhere else is pretty clear... hmmm... so when the plane broke through the clouds, a glorious blanket of white was covering all the farmland and birmingham airport was pretty white and grey.

have i mentioned that my flight to dubai was TERRIBLE? it was a)full and b)full of screaming babies. is it just me, or is the few days after christmas a season of mass migration of babies across continents? or perhaps parents decide to take their babies on holiday? so the babies were screaming when the plane was taxi-ing (note that the plane had YET to take off), during take-off (understandable) and throughout the flight (taking turns to scream their heads off) - you've got to hand it to those babies though... i think that if i screamed as long as they did, i'd have a sore throat for 2 weeks... but to console myself, i was on a half-full/empty plane from dubai to birmingham so i managed to move to a row (2 seats side) all to myself - which isnt that impressive considering there were a few people that had 4 seats to themselves but still... moral of the story? always be thick-skinned. i moved after the plane had taken off (because people were arriving onto the plane in batches depending on the bus that brought people from the terminal to the planes) and i didnt want to sit in a seat which was for other people. what i should have done was what some other passengers did which was to ask the stewardess carrying the list which row was empty... sigh...

anyway, it was freezing in my house because i had switched the main to low over the holidays to cut the gas bill and it took an enitre day to heat the house to liveable temperatures. i think the whole tropical-temperate thing really shocked my system because i'm usually very resilient to cold temperatures but it was crazy when i went out today to town. it was "-1 but feels like -6" on the uk.weather.com forecast and my fingers were freezing because i didnt bring my gloves out. how silly. and i hardly bought anything because all the stores i wanted to get stuff from were either closed (like my favourite book store in cov market) or in a state of chaos (from crazy boxing-day-sale people).

have i mentioned i have a cold? i took some flu medication which is working wonders clearing my nose but now i've got a sore throat so off i go to Boots tomorrow to get cough syrup. yum.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

dinner (plus supper) with 02A53

so the other day 02A53 finally had a huge class gathering at the Esplanade -we ate dinner at this halal place next to Thai Express called 2Hot Cafe which had a very interesting menu (the sort that goes at length in the menu but never gets around to explaining what is IN the dish) and i decided to get their crayfish nonya laksa. they fried the crayfish so it had a yummy crispy layer and for about $13 it was pretty ok in terms of value (considering it was at the Esplanade...). had myself some coffee-ish drink with vanilla which was not as thick as i would have liked it to be but still pretty nice because the vanilla flavour was rather strong. it'd give the place a 6.5 out of 10.
me and my funky classmates! (teacher included!) 11 of us, plus farah, melinda and angela = 14 people!
the view from the rooftop terrace where we adjourned for snacks from the mama shop which wasnt mama at all because it was run by a young chinese woman (haha) - twisties and jack & jill. YUM.
after which, we suddenly decided to go for supper at Glutton Bay right next to the Esplanade Colours By The Bay (the Makansutra one) for ou luat, some indian rojak and fried hokkien prawn mee (sorry, no pics).

is it just me or that 02A53 class gatherings ALWAYS revolve around food? though this was one of our more successful ones we've had. we had a crowd for dinner, some left some joined, then even more people came for supper! so cute, right? YAY 02A53!

Monday, December 26, 2005

'tis the season to be jolly (which equates to being well-fed)

Chistmas really is the season for lots of feasting... not that i am complaining...
our Christmas tree at home! it started off as a gold/red/silver/orange tree but my mom found it too bare so out the window went the colour scheme...

dinner on Christmas Eve was a nice homey affair with a feast that my mom (and i) prepared.we had a rack of glazed ribs - baked in the oven before being put on the grill pan and brushed with a BBQ sauce and meat juices glaze.
sambal prawns - my mom made the sauce and then only added in the prawns at the last moment before turning off the fire and leaving the pot covered so that the prawns will not be overcooked.
baked portobello mushrooms stuffed with breadcrumbs and bacon bits mixed in olive oil (to hold it all together).
i made an avocado and prawn started with homemade mayonaise (egg yolk, wholegrain mustard, salt, pepper) because my mom said she doesnt like avocado so i told her she had to buy it from the market so that i can change her opinion...
my mom baked lobster but it didnt come out all red so she grilled it over the fire on our grill pan - the meat got overcooked then and became a bit icky... such a waste though...
crayfish - see how yummy the flesh looks? think it turned out better than our lobster...
roasted vegetables for the fibre and colour! mmmmm...
my mom even made her own cranberry sauce! (though we didnt have turkey - she was so excited about her vegetable stall at the market having cranberries that she spontaneously decided to try)

Christmas Day dinner was cooked by me (with my mom's help in prep of ingredients) since she cooked a fabulous lunch of rendang that had been slow-cooking from the night before.
pineapple rice with loads of FRESH pineapple (no scrimping on this!), lap cheong, dried shrimp and shallots.
of course we needed greens! my family MUST have greens at every meal.
and i made lamb chops! used the recipe i created for the Elim Christmas dinner and made it for my parents. marinated it all afternoon which made the smell of the meat go away. think the recipe is a keeper. :)

Boxing Day lunch was a trip to Chilli Padi (the one that always has those little stalls in malls selling their kuehs, chilli sauces, mee siam, laksa [both nonya and penang]) at Bras Besah Road (just opposite Bugis Junction) for their buffet - only $9!
yam cake and mee siam... note the small bowls provided so that you will take smaller portions and not waste!
nonya laksa with some chilli on the side for the "kick" - pretty good but you cant do without the chilli or else it just tastes like a coconut soup.
chicken macaroni (never knew it was nonya in any way... hmmm...) with loads of chilli padi. very stocky soup if not a bit too salty.
nasi lemak with loads of extras like curry chicken and nonya chap chye.
gado gado - the sauce was REALLY good! we had loads of this!
nonya kueh! what nonya meal would be complete without it? :) the onde onde was yummy!

flying off tomorrow morning - spending New Year's in Coventry. time to get put the cooking gear for a big party at 72 (because they have a proper dining table!)

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Christmas dinner with my parents' church caregroup

on friday i decided to go for my parents' caregroup's christmas dinner at a quaint little place my family loves called... *TA DA!*
it's a family-run restaurant at changi village that serves asian and VERY GOOD western food - the owner apparently used to work with the SIA kitchen or something and she makes good german food (think sausage platters and pork knuckle with saurkraut... mmm...). the food tastes yummy because it has that homemade goodness (like her pizzas are done on herb dough bases rather than just plain dough) and it's VERY AFFORDABLE. plus the whole changi village feel really helps you to chill out and enjoy your after-meal coffee.
so i got semi-dressed-up and whisked out my trusty camera so that i could amuse myself should i find myself bored and alone (which usually is the case in these gatherings with my parents' "newer" friends since i have outgrown the tagging along that i used to do as a child). spoke to a couple that were sort of newer members of the caregroup and we had a very long conversation about Warwick (started because they were SO AMUSED that there is a degree such as Film & Lit) which was pretty cool, i'd have to say.
we had a special menu because it was a big party of like 25 people which 2 choices for each course (except the appetiser) and there was a pretty good spread...we started the meal with a garden green salad and freshgrapefruit (forgot to take a picture of the salad). LOVED the grapefruit (though people who know me will say i love ANY grapefruit) because it was sweet and juicy (i had 2 because the person next to me didnt want his). the salad came with a fantastic vinegarette that had wholegrain mustard, some honey, balsamic vinegar and some other seasoning (i have yet to figure out how to make their fantastic dressing) over the fresh leaves, tomatoes and olives.
soup was a choice between cream of mushroom and cream of tomato - look at the fresh mushrooms in the soup! YUM! very good and wholesome.
[heard that the tomato soup was good too but didnt get to taste because neither my mom nor my dad ordered it]
in between courses one of the waiters came out and started playing some christmas tunes (as well as jazz) because they decided the pub next door was making too much noise so it was time for some retaliation... hmmm...
my main course was roast turkey, served with a sausage, meat stuffing, a roll of bacon, vegetables and a baked potato. my dad had the roast pork which had a generous serving of delicious crackling. the owner kept coming out with plates of extra turkey meat and pork crackling because they had extra after the initial servings. of course i helped myself...
dessert was a choice between custard and peach pudding and Birne Helene (which is a cooked pear on chocolate mousse) - preferred the latter because it was sweet yet not overpowering, as well as very unusual.
(the pear is buried under the mousse - skinned and cooked till soft and sweet...)
to end it all off, we had their homebaked fruit cake which was SOOOOO GOOD! it had the right amount of fruit and cake (not like some which has too much fruit) and had a yummy top. would have preferred it to be more moist but it was still really delicious.

and the meal came up to... *drumroll*... $26.90! no service charge or GST (only 1% CESS)! how VALUE-FOR-MONEY is that?!
another one of my artistic shots on the way home in the car - this camera really does take very good pictures in areas with minimal lighting... :)

Saturday, December 24, 2005

a homecooked meal for a girl who doesn't like VEGETABLES

xiaowen came over to my place on friday to have a homecooked lunch rather than go for katong laksa (she claims she has never eaten laksa before in her entire life) because she wanted to enjoy my cooking (i'm honoured!).

so i made spaghetti (because we always say we should meet up for lunch at Han's and have their spaghetti) - note how much capsicum i put in. this was my bid to get xiaowen to eat more vegetables: by chopping them into small bits, you'd not want to spend ten minutes picking them all out so you'd just eat them (the things you learn from reading cooking magazines on how to get children to eat their greens). initially she was dreading the capsicums because she has never eaten them before in her entire life (again!) but she was amazed that they didnt taste yucky (YAY!) and she didnt even realise there were mushrooms in the pasta!
so, nutritional recap: bacon in spaghetti - protein; tomatoes, onions, capsicum, mushrooms - fibre; spaghetti - carbohydrates
VOILA! balanced meal already!
i made roast chicken with honey, soy sauce, pepper and five spice powder (leftovers were eaten today as part of a chicken salad. YUMMY!)
and we had SALAD! xiaowen didnt touch the salad but she DID try one cucumber stick after being amused that my mom and i ate were snacking on them after we had finished our food. erm, she wasnt that big a fan...

we were bored so we decided to go to Orchard since i needed to get my ballet shoes before i flew back to the UK and i didnt want to have to tussle with the christmas eve crowd. so we spontaneously decided to take pictures while in the train stations (despite getting weird looks from people).
my unexpected artistic shot! had turned off the flash and moved the camera just before the picture was taken. how cool is that! anyway i sort of figured out that i have an intelligent camera because when i turn the flash off and am in a dimly lit area, the camera slows the shutter speed so that it can get more light before the picture is taken... which results in the above when you move too soon...
a self-portrait. josh noted some time ago i seem to like this expression when i take self-portraits. like bunny-ish. the big eyes and the teeth biting my lower lip... hmm...

Fu Lin Niang Tofu

my family and i went for my favourite yong tau fu in siglap some time ago (when we got back from malacca) but the pictures have been idle in my camera... ooops! anyway, the stall used to be in the coffee shop next to the canal beside siglap centre but they grew so popular they opened their own shop a few doors down.

what makes the yong tau fu special is that they deep fry all the pieces you have chosen and poor a special sauce over it. this sauce is also what they serve their thick bee hoon with (it's a savoury sauce with pork mince) and their choice to serve only thick bee hoon (the l
aksa sort) means that the noodles soaks up this yummy gravy and goes extremely well with the yong tau fu.their chilli sauce is mixture of sweetness and chilli"kick". although a bit on the watery side, it goes well with the yong tau fu because it coats the pieces in sauce and when you eat them, the chilli sauce fills your mouth just before the yong tau fu does. mmmmmmmm... :)
by the way, i think this new "No Smoking" campaign is very effective because i walked into the shop and my eye caught the "LOOK HERE" posters stuck around on the walls. GOOD JOB!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Elim [Warwick campus cell] Christmas Dinner (week 10)

a long overdue post about the Elim Christmas dinner at Hsien's place in Heronbank but i finally got some pictures! :)

we had an AWESOME cell christmas dinner in the last week of term! i all started a few weeks ago with the planning of what to have (which i gladly relished in) and who to bring additional stuff. it was a HUGE dinner with turkey, lamb, roasted potatoes, sprouts, carrots, honey parsnips, brocolli, cauliflower, stuffing, yorkshires, gravy and grilled onions. plus loads of sauces - mint, cranberry and mustard! whoohoo!got ideas for cooking the lamb and turkey from www.epicurious.com and it turned out YUMMY (though the second round of turkey was left in the oven for too long so it got a bit tough). made the turkey with butter, pepper, salt, rosemary and tarragon, with them sitting on a couple of onions while the lamb was roasted with olive oil, pepepr, salt, rosemary, oregano and garlic. roasted the potatoes (boiled till soft before) with pepper and salt and loads of butter, while the vegetables were boiled till just before they became soft. mmmmmmm...
group picture! jia en, emily, me, hsien, ben, tim, steve and adeola. erm, can you believe ben is one of my cell leaders? hmmm...
me and jia en! matching paper crowns from the christmas crackers...
group picture with the 2 girls, tanya and su hsien (back row, in black and blue), who came late! haha... i think they are joining our cell next term. YAY! NEW MEMBERS! and claire (next to me) who graced us with her presence despite her family being in town!
it was the day AFTER steve's birthday but he brough his own birthday cake! how cute! just like in kindergarten when everyone brought their own birthday cakes and gave out little gifts to everyone in the class! awwwww... anyway the cake was mostly icing (though really nice icing) and we were REALLY stuffed at the end of it.
this was after steve misunderstood that i didnt want the piece from the side (because it was 50% icing 50% cake) and he thought i wanted the front bit (which was 100% icing). POOR DOGGIE!

it was a FABULOUS dinner! thanks to Ben, Emily, Jia En and Hsien for helping to cook! :) and thanks Em for the YUMMY christmas pudding and to Hsien for the funky christmas crackers. thanks Ben for risking your life for the wine! and to the other WONDERFUL people, thanks for bringing drinks and dessert...