Beyond The Realm Of Conscience

After Mediacorp dramas, I now progress to watching TVB dramas. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I have not watched TVB dramas before. In fact, I've always watched TVB dramas on television since my school days, and they were really entertaining.

In the past few years however, I have not been watching, being occupied with other things in life. But now, I am starting to watch again. Since 4 months ago, I've watched 6 different dramas, and there hasn't been any that failed to entertain!

I have just finished watching "Beyond The Realm Of Conscience" or 宮心計, and what strikes me the most about this drama is that it really appeals to the sense of sight - good-looking actors and pretty actresses, elaborate sets, strikingly colourful costumes and accessories. I just love the lavish Tang Dynasty costumes and hairdo on the female actresses. Since the story is set in the palace, the royalty were dressed to the nines! The palace workers wore uniforms, but those too, were beautifully designed and tailored!

The storyline was well-written, with a lot of twists and turns which I had not expected. For instance, I did not expect that Yuen Choi Wan (Susanna Kwan) was involved romantically with a palace guard in her younger days, and had even abandoned her own child.

I had never liked Charmaine Sheh before this. But now, I sincerely think that she has matured and improved much in her acting. As the protagonist of this drama, she was kind, generous, soft-spoken, yet strong and resilient. I think Charmaine portrayed the different nuances of Sam Ho's character very well.

Moses Chan of course, portrayed the retarded Prince Kwong very well. I really like Moses Chan in goofy characters like this. Later as a righteous Emperor, he was firm, eloquent, and authoritative.

Tavia Yeung's role was evil, but she failed me make me hate her, even after I had finished watching the drama. Not to say that her acting was not good. But maybe, she just did not exude that hateful kind of feeling.

Kevin Cheng's character, Ko Hin-Yeung, however, did not make much of an impression on me. He was a good man in the drama. But somehow, his role was not impactful.

There were many scenes that I liked, notably these two :

1) Lee Yi's ascension to throne; when it was realised that he was only feigning retardation, the shock on their faces of his antoginists were apparent;

2) Lee Yi's Emperor Suen Tsung appointed Sam Ho to be his concubine and it surprised everyone in the Court.

Well, in this drama, I prefer the Moses - Charmaine pairing, rather than the Kevin - Charmaine pairing, which I think exuded more chemistry onscreen. And did Ko Hin-Yeung suffer from amnesia towards the end? Hmn, I suppose he did as he could not even recognise Sam Ho. So sad.

This drama is mainly about the schemes in the Imperial palace household, and though full of grandeur, the palace does not seem to be a very conducive place to live at all. It is where the fittest will survive, and where we see masters and servants plot against each other to usurp power authority.

Quite an enjoyable show, overall. Recommended to those who have nothing much on their hands and are looking for some entertainment to fill their time.

Dinner @ Siamese Secrets

Siamese Secrets is a rather happening place on a Saturday night. The place is packed with diners inside and outside. There are families and yuppies alike. It's quite a good place to hang out with friends, as the ambience is rather quiet, and it is easy to chit chat over the food.

The menu is not only Thai, there are local favourites, Western grills, and even Mexican dishes served here. However, as there were only two of us last night, we did not want order too much. We decided on two mains - Stir Fried Dry Chilli Beef and Thai Green Chicken Curry. Both dishes were served with rice and pickles.

Well, A**** and I both liked the two dishes served. The tender beef was marinated and stir fried with onions, carrots and celery slices. The vegetables were crunchy and complemented the beef wonderfully. However, patrons must be warned that this dish is rather spicy.

Stir Fried Dry Chilli Beef

The Thai Green Chicken Curry was served steaming hot. Only deboned chicken thigh meat was used, which appealed to me tremendously. The gravy was piquant with the use of a lot of herbs and spices. It was a tad sourish too, due to the use of ginger flower and kaffir lime leaf to flavour the curry.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Both the two dishes were appetising as they were sour and spicy, inducing one to eat lots of rice!

The rice was garnished with deep-fried shallots & pickles

Well, the chilli beef was RM20.00 per serving, while the curry was RM18.00 per serving. Patrons are also charged an additional 10% for service.

Joke Of The Day

In a bid to illustrate the Malaysia Boleh spirit, Boss told a joke and it had me in stitches.

There were 3 couples having breakfast at a hotel. One was American, another couple Australian, and of course, the final couple was Malaysian.

The American husband wanted to display his affection for his wife, and so he said to lovingly to his wife, "Hun, can you please pass the honey?"

The Australian husband thought he could outdo the American man, and he requested his wife, "Sugar, can you please pass the sugar?"

Not wanting to lose out, do you know what our Malaysian husband said to his wife? Want to take a guess? See the pic for clue ;).

(Pic source : www.extravaganza.com)

Turning to his wife, our Malaysian husband said, "Lembu, can you please pass the susu?"

Lol.

Happy Hatch Day To Me ...

It was a pleasant surprise for me this morning as I was presented a cake during the morning roll call. Thanks so much, students. I really appreciate it. The cake was yum; it tasted rich and velvety in the mouth and most importantly, it left a wonderful feeling in my heart. I am truly touched and blessed by your gesture.

Thanks, kids. Love you all.

My Experience Going Under The Laser

Well, it never occured to me to undergo any aesthetics enhancement, perhaps because where I am and who I associate with are still rather conservative. Previously, there weren't any aesthetics services readily available here in Miri. Sure, there were plenty of beauty salons, but none of those establishments would require one to go through anything else other than facials upon facials. Recently however, an aesthetics centre newly opened, and I visited in support of a friend, who runs the place.

And having consulted the doctor of my freckles, photorejuvenation or laser therapy was recommended to me. "It's very easy to treat," the doctor said. It all sounded too good to be true. According to him, I was supposed to go through 6 laser treatments, with each treatment costing RM800.00. After a thorough enquiry, I decided to try 1 treatment to see the effect.

After putting off the treatment for at least 2 months, I finally went to get it done last Thursday. My face was analysed and cleansed. After that, my eyes were taped, and the doctor proceeded to laser my face. The treatment took about 30 minutes. The sensation was akin to that of ant-bites. Lol. After everything was over, a therapist applied a cream and sunblock for me.

However, when I saw my face for the first time, I FREAKED OUT! It's because my face was covered with reddish dots - just think chicken pox!!! I was totally unprepared for this at all. I was sure that people were going to stare at me if I went anywhere! I immediately requested a face mask to cover part of my face. I asked for a sick leave too, as I really wasn't sure if I could be presentable enough to go to work the next day. And I needed to wear those red chicken pox-like marks on my face for at least 3 days????? HORROR!!!!

Why didn't anyone tell me that it was going to be like that? The doctor did not tell me before this. My friend, who had gone through the same treatment, had failed to inform me too. If I had known that it was going to be like that, I would not have gone for treatment on a week day. Darn.

I was also given a list of do's and don'ts.
1) Do not use hot water to wash the face.
2) Do not scrub the face.
3) Cleanse and then apply X Serum & X Cream.
3) Use a mild moisturiser if itchy or reddish.

Hmn. I kinda think that all those information should be made known to any potential but ignorant patients. Why hold it back? What good would it do?

Well, I would say that the after-effects of photorejuvenation was not pleasant at all. Not only was my skin stressed, I was emotionally stressed as well, especially when looking into the mirror. My reflection never failed to make me cringe. Eew. Time and again, I swore that I would not go through it again. I was also extremely grateful that I had not signed up for a package of 6 treatments. Going through it once was unpleasant enough. To have to go through it 6 times would amount to torture!!!!

One day later, my skin felt tight and dry and was slightly itchy. Reddish marks were evident. Then pimples started popping out. I don't know whether that was how it was supposed to be? Or whether it was only peculiar to me. "What happened to your face?" a colleague asked. Others were too polite to ask me, I suspect. Lol. Yeah. I forfeited my sick leave and braved myself to go to work the next day.

One and a half days later. Knock. Knock. I opened my bedroom door, and A**** gasped. "What happened to you??" See, that's how SCARY I looked. Lol.

Anyway slowly, the effects wore off and by Sunday, I was quite presentable already. And then, I could see the positive effects. My right cheek, especially, was "cleaner" with the freckles removed and lightened. It was also smoother and softer. *HAPPY* My left cheek, however, looked pretty much the same. I wondered if the doc purposely left one side of my face flawed so that I could see the difference. Hmn.

But now I can understand why people can be addicted to cosmetics and aesthetic procedures. Think the late Michael Jackson who went from black to white. Think of Jocelyn Wildenstein, the lady who transformed into a cat. Out of control.

Well, once you see the positive changes in your face, you would be enticed to go back for more. Despite the few days of suffering, I am now thinking to go back for another photorejuvenation session, to remove some more flaws on my now less-flawed face. Lol. Didn't I swear that I would not go back? Didn't I swear that it was not worth the suffering? Lol. Beauty is addictive!!! As long as you got the $$, looking flawless is not impossible!

All For The Sake Of Vanity

09 August 2010, Thurs, 8.00 p.m.

It looks rather scary now, with reddish dots scattered all over the surface, especially the right side of my face. I look more terrible than before the treatment. I did not know that it was going to be like this. The effects are supposed to wear off within 3 days. Hurry. Hurry. I can't bear to look at myself in the mirror.


18 August 2010, Wed, 4.13 p.m.


It's been 6 days already. Most of the reddish scabs did come off by the third day. So, I was actually quite presentable by Sunday. I'm not sure if anyone else can see any visible differences. But for me, I am rather happy with my right cheek now. The freckles are lightened, giving it a "cleaner" appearance. The right cheek also feels smoother compared to the left cheek. I'd probably have to go back to do my left cheek, though I swore that I did not want to go through it again. Lol.

Simple Glass Vermicelli Soup

I woke up at 9.00 a.m. today. It's pretty late by my standards. I can't remember the last time I woke up this late. I went to Krokop market today, intending to buy fresh chicken and vegetables.

And so, for brunch, I cooked a simple glass vermicelli soup, which consists of pre-cooked stuffed tofu and vegetables bought from the market, choy sum & chicken.

Lots of ingredients atop the glass vermicelli

The broth was made by boiling chicken with a slice of ginger, and seasonsed with salt and pepper.

Ready to eat

It only took me a jiffy to cook myself this hearty soupy meal ;) .

Quickie Omelette for Emergency Lunch

It was already 2.00 p.m. I was hungry, but was lazy to go out to buy food. It was a hot day, and I did not feel like going out. However, there was nothing in the fridge to cook. I had only sausages, eggs in there. I opened the vegetable box, and found only fruits, lettuce and chillies. In my larder, I had rice, instant noodles and canned food. And so I decided to have porridge for lunch.

I decided to boil myself some porridge to go with those canned pickled lettuce and canned fish in black beans which had been sitting in the larder for so long. Then I remembered a quickie omelette that I liked.

First I chopped up some onions and chillies. Then I washed and diced the sausages into bite-sized pieces. Then, I heated the pan to brown the sausages. I dished the browned sausages and sauted the onions and chillies in the same pan. When they softened, I put back the sausages into pan and added in a beaten egg. When they cooked, all I seasoned the omelette with a dash of pepper.

My quickie omelette cooking in the pan ...

Sweet & pungent onions with the savoury sausages and eggs
The chillies gave the omelette a bit of zing

Emergency Lunch

The piping hot porridge was yummy enough to be eaten with anything, and I was just glad to fill up my tummy without having to go out of the house on a hot, hot day.

Restoran De'Kelate

R** has brought me to Restoran De'Kelate at Piasau a few times already. This cafe restaurant is run by a Kelatanese family, so the food was rather authentic.

What I love here is the Tom Yum soup - sour, piquant, spicy and utterly yummy. There are two types of Tom Yum served here - the normal Tom Yum and also Tom Yum Putih.

First up, I tried the fiery normal Seafood Tom Yum soup. The soup had prawns, lots of squid, cauliflower and carrots, spiced with red tom yum paste, onions, limau purut leaves, lemongrass, and chilli padi or bird's eye chilli.

Tom Yum Biasa

I also tried the Seafood Tom Yum Putih. It had the same ingredients, with the addition of galangal slices and minus the tom yum paste. Hence, the soup was clear and just as yum as the normal Tom Yum. The soups were RM6.00 per portion.

Tom Yum Putih

We had our soups with Nasi Goreng Kerabu Seafood or Seafood Kerabu Fried Rice. The rice was fried with prawns and lots of squid, sliced chilli padi, and chopped bunga kantan or ginger flower. I loved the taste of the ginger flower. Yum. The rice was RM5.00 per portion.

Nasi goreng kerabu with seafood

This restaurant cafe opens at about 1.00 p.m. daily, so do head over to try out some Kelantanese dishes, especially if you love hot, sour and spicy food.