I Thought I Could Vote This Time

I made sure I registered in the electoral roll. And I did. I had really wanted to vote, wanting to have a say about who gets represented in the State government. I know my vote counts. But because of work commitments, I cannot travel back to my hometown to vote. What a pity.

Am now waiting anxiously for the results ............................................

What Has Kept Me Going

Former students dropped by school today to get their documents certified. Well, now is the time for these post-SPM students to apply for scholarships and apply for higher education courses.

And they said to me :

J : Teacher, I miss your class.
I : Put the knife inside the stomach .... Hahahaha ....
J : The Oyster. Hahaha ....

And I was of course really touched. ;)

Those were details even I did not remember. And when they mentioned it today, I recall that I had made fun of the students' grammatical errors and reprimanded them for all the factual inaccuracies they committed when writing their personal response to The Pearl, that I christened what they'd written The Oyster. They had laughed about it then, and with the passing of time, etched those episodes into their memory.

Of course I understand that not all students like me. And I also do not wish to be "popular" among them. But I am indeed humbled that some of them had liked my lessons. Well, kids, I do miss teaching you too. I wish you will not grow up so quickly and leave school so soon, but I know it's just not possible.

I wish you all the very best in your future undertakings. May you get offered a course that you enjoy. ;))

Chicken Rice @ Cafe Rosita

I joined my friends for lunch today at Cafe Rosita at Dynasty Hotel here in Miri. My friend A******* recommended the Chicken Rice, and I thought there was no harm trying.

A serving costs RM12.00. So what do diners get for RM12.00? I mean, one can easily get chicken rice for RM3.50 at the coffee shops around the city.

So after waiting for around 20 minutes, my highly anticipated chicken rice finally arrived. By the way, I do think that it was a rather long wait. At any coffee shops outside, an order of chicken rice would be served quite promptly. Why? Cause everything is pre-cooked and the vendor would just have to scoop up some rice and condiments, chop up the chicken and cucumbers and then serve!

Anyway, back to the chicken rice at Cafe Rosita.

The rice - lightly flavoured, not too oily nor too salty,

garnished with cucumber and tomato slices

Steamed Chicken

It was a whole large drum, served on a bed of cucumber slices,
and a sesame-soy sauce.
The bones were removed so it made it easier to eat.

The soup
It was Dongcai soup with lots of chopped spring onions.
Good thing it was served boiling hot.


The condiments consisted of ground chilli, ground ginger, and soy sauce.
You could ask for extra if you want.

Well, I would say that the chicken rice at Cafe Rosita is commendable. But why would anyone choose to eat chicken rice here and pay 3 times the price of that at a coffee shop? Well, for one thing, the ambience here is so much better. It is quiet and it made it so much easier to chat over lunch. It is air-conditioned, and you could tuck into your food in comfort. But most of all, you could appear to be glam for choosing to have your hawker's fare at a posh cafe!

Ajisen Ramen

I had been wanting this outlet since it opened at Boulevard Commercial Centre. Today, I finally did it.

 Ajisen Ramen Spicy Cha-su Ramen, RM15.90

I had the Spicy Cha-Su Ramen, RM15.90. I thought it was really expensive. Luckily the ramen did not disappoint.

Anyway, the ramen noodles were light and springy, the beansprouts and kelp were crunchy and chewy, the minced pork was tasty, the soup umami and spiced with chilli. I liked the Char-Su best of all. Char-Su is basically thin slices of a rolled up pork belly. There were only 3 thinly sliced Char-Su in the ramen. I think I'd love to order more Char-Su if only it were available as a side dish.

What I did not like was the eating utensils. The spoon is a mini plastic ladle. It felt funny drinking soup from a mini ladle. Lol. Inelegant!! I also did not like the disposable chopsticks. If I were to eat here again, I would not hesitate to bring my own eating utensils. :)

My friend, S**** ordered the Beef Ramen.

Ajisen Ramen Beef Ramen, RM18.90

No complaints from S**** so I assumed that she liked the ramen too.

For our meal, we paid RM44.65 inclusive of drinks and 10% service charge. Rather expensive, huh?