Free Netbooks

You'd better watch out.

You'd better not cry.
You'd better not howl,
I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.

Over 360 students at my school went home with a netbook each today. Free of charge, courtesy of the Government of Malaysia. It's all part of a programme called the National Broadband Initiative. The government justifies it all here.

Boxes and boxes of the 1Malaysia netbook

A close-up

The contents

What was the selection criteria? The students' household income had to be RM3000 and below. Sure, it's a good thing to enhance the ICT skills of students, especially those from the lower income group.

But for me and most of my colleagues, we only worry that it would affect the students negatively. Imagine all the time they are going to spend on the computer, going on Facebook, chatting, playing games and surfing the Net. What's going to happen to their studies, their school work??

Estee Lauder : Pleasures

I know of a few people who love to collect perfumes. I used to collect miniature perfumes too. It's just that I did not use to like to wear them. I collected them purely because I thought that the bottles were irresistably cute.

Recently, however, I have developed a liking for using perfumes. ;p And a personal favourite among my limited collection now is the Dior Addict 2, which I felt encapsulated a modern scent.

(Source :www.dior.com)

And so, I was going to go shopping for more perfume, either at Duty Free or the departmental store. Or perhaps even online. My friend was telling me about strawberrynet and well, I may just one of these days purchase something from there ....

(Source : www.esteelauder.com)

Anyway, for my hatch day this year, the girls have gifted me with Estee Lauder's Pleasures. It's a light floral number with a fresh and crisp, yet faintly exotic scent. To get to know the perfume better, I wanted to know the sets of notes that it comprised.

So, according to www.esteelauder.com, Pleasures is made up of the following notes:
Top Notes - White Lily, Violet Leaves, Green Accents
Middle Notes - Black Lilac, White Peony, Karo-Karounde Blossoms, Baie Rose, Pink Rose, Jasmine
Base Notes - Sandalwood, Patchouli

Well, at the first whiff, Pleasures tickled my nose slightly, but the scent sort of mellowed with time. I know that I will enjoy wearing it. Thanks for the wonderful gift, girls!

Dinner @ Seaworld Seafood Restaurant

It's seafood tonight. The girls went to Seaworld Seafood Restaurant at Jalan Yu Seng, Miri. With our steamed rice, we ordered ...

Stir-fried Cangkuk Manis with Egg (马尼菜炒蛋), RM8.00

It was moist, though there's no residue of oil on the plate.
It's reasonably tasty to eat with steamed rice.

Butter Cream Crab, RM26.00
The crab was fresh and sweet, and I enjoyed it lots.
The sauce was rich, with a hint of spiciness from the chilli padi and a whiff of that distinct aroma of the curry leaves. However, I thought the sauce was too thick. It solidified as the dish cooled.

Steamed Prawns, RM20.00
Prawns were trimmed and then steamed with thin ginger strips in a light soy sauce and then sprinkled with fresh celery leaves. The prawns were fresh, sweet and succulent. I loved the sauce too.

Boiled / Poached Prawns (白灼虾), RM20.00
Again, the prawns were fresh, and just lightly flavoured with salt. It was served with a vinegary chilli dip.

Kopi Peng, RM2.00

I requested for my coffee to be "kawww" or 厚 or thick. And guess what? I loved it!

Thanks for the treat, guys. You're gems.

Tanjong Lobang On A Saturday Evening

DSLR cameras are indeed very popular nowadays, and I'm in the midst of contemplating whether I should get myself one (thanks to my friends who are trying to influence me ;p). It's not so much the cost. It's just that I do not know whether I'd be able to learn to use such a complex camera.

Anyway, I joined my friends at their photography session last weekend at the Tanjong Lobang beach. How long ago was it since I'd come here to Tanjong Lobang?

Walking towards the beach ...

Well, I can't remember! It was THAT long ago! And I was surprised to actually see that there were lots of activity there!! The car parks were full! The playground was sure crowded with children and their anxious parents. I sanked my bare feet in the warm sand and made my way towards a cluster of rocks at the edge of the sea while looking at paragliders up in the sky. Some people were flying their kites, a few boys were learning to surf, a few photographer-wannabes with DSLRs strung around their necks, while most people were just strolling along the beach. It was all rather interesting!

A paraglider flying low ...

After the shooting session, we decided to have our dinner at the stalls. "Don't sit at the green table," my friend warned.

"Why?" I asked. Apparently, the green tables belonged to stall no.3 and the stall would not allow diners to order food from other stalls if we sat there. Well, that's new knowledge to me. I'd never known that.

My friend highly recommended the barbecued pork belly outside stall no. 1.

Barbecued Pork Belly, RM12.00

Well, the pork belly was indeed superb. Succulent, salty, smoky. Just pop a slice into your mouth and enjoy the flavours as you chew. You could also dip it into a vinegary chilli sauce that came with the platter if you like it a bit sour and spicy. We wanted to order another serving but they were sold out! And it was not yet 7.30 p.m.!!

The vendor lady said that she only made about 5 - 6 kg of pork a day. I complimented her on the pork and asked how she'd marinade it. She said she'd only use common ingredients like salt and msg. Lol. As if she's going to tell me her secret ingredient!!!

So, if you're at Tanjong Lobang sometime in the evening, the barbecued pork belly is worth a try. I'm so going back for more! One of these days. Maybe after I'd gotten myself my camera? Kekekekekekeke ......................

My First Encounter With Polvoron

Polvoron. Sounds like a character in the Harry Potter series, doesn't it? Lol.

Anyway, Wikipedia says that polvoron is a type of heavy, soft and crumbly Spanish shortbread. Well, I've never come across any polvorons in my life till my friend gave me these tiny treats she brought back from the Philippines. Thanks, W**.

After eating them, I found that the polvorons were indeed crumbly, and they had this melt in the mouth quality. They were very sweet, guaranteed to satisfy any sugar cravings!

The polvorons came in a variety of flavours,

packaged in cheerful colours

Among the variety that I got to try, I liked the classic polvoron in which had a buttery flavour. I also liked the cashew polvoron for its nutty taste. One that's unfamiliar to me is "Pinipig", which I later found out to be some sort of rice puffs. Interesting, eh?

Zaika : Bread & Curries

The girls went to Zaika for a dinner of bread and curries last night. Zaika is located at Boulevard Commercial Centre and serves Northern cuisine.

The ambience is great. It's rather classy and comfy, with soft Indian instrumental music piping in the background. A good place to chill out with friends over dinner.

Well, let's begin with the drink. I had a Zaika Sutra, which is a blend of passion fruit & plum juices. The drink was sweet, fresh and fruity, with the passion fruit flavour coming out stronger than that of the plum juice. It's quite refreshing though.

Zaika Sutra, RM8.00

This is the appetiser. There is a papadum, served with 3 types of dip.

Wafer thin, crispy papadums

The dips...

I liked the pale coloured one on the bottom right. I haven't any idea what's in there, but there was a strong cumin flavour that came through. I love cumin!

The girls wanted only Naan. So they ordered 3 types.

Plain Naan on the left, RM4.00 and Butter Naan on the right, RM5.00

According to the menu, butter naan has got "freshly churned butter folded into the dough"

Garlic Naan, RM5.50

Garlic naan is basted with butter and sprinkled with minced garlic

Of all the breads, my favourite would be the plain Naan where I could enjoy the heavenly flavour and taste of the freshly made bread. The naan, being baked in a tandoor oven, also had a smoky aroma. I love it!!! All that seemed to be missing from the other two varieties, perhaps being overpowered by the butter and the garlic paste.

To eat with our breads, we had ...

Yellow Dal Tarka, RM10.50

It's braised yellow lentils served with a seasoning of onions and spices. It was served very hot, so it was really yum to eat with the plain bread. The blend of spices used were rather subtle and complemented the whole dish very well.

Lamb Rogan Josh, RM32.50

There were generous chunks of lamb in a thick curry gravy. But for me, it could have been very well be lamb masak kicap. Lol.

Red Snapper Curry, RM25.50

My favourite is the fish curry. It had bite-sized pieces of succulent red snapper, cooked to perfection in a concoction of spices. This dish tasted very strongly of fennel, which may not sit well with some people.

All in all, we paid Rm105.95 for our meal. Not only did we have a hearty dinner, we had a great time catching up as well.

My Two Cents : SSH & KTH In Taipei

After watching clips of SSH's interaction with the media and with his fans in Taiwan, I want to give him credit for being so obliging.

Wherever he went, he was mobbed by screaming fan girls and not forgetting to mention, even some aunties ;). He patiently smiled and waved, shook hands and entertained request after request for his autograph. And there were not just one or two requests. There were so many at every place that he went!! For instance, in one of the clips, the reporter commented that he took more than 10 minutes to walk the short distance from the airport entrance to the departure hall because he was signing as many autographs as he could along the way.

At the official press conference and also at the fan meet, I could feel his sincerity as he fielded questions asked by the hosts. I have no doubt that what he said all came from his heart.

There was a gap of 10 years since his last visit to Taiwan. So, it is my opinion that he did not want to disappoint his fans who had waited for a whole decade for him to come to the shores to Taiwan. Who knows when he will get another chance. 10 more years?

Anyway, this all reiterated with what he said in one of his interviews about feeling "a sense of responsibility" of doing what he does. And throughout this trip, it is evident that he puts his fans first, to oblige them as much as he can.

Kudos to SSH. I truly believe that you are a very NICE person, and I respect you as an A-list celebrity.

Leaving Taipei 08.08.2011 ...
(Credit as labelled)

I can't say the same for his fellow actor, KTH, however. She embarrassed herself by claiming that it was her first trip to Taiwan when it was her second. She seemed to have wiped out the first trip completely from her memory! Video clips too have shown her charging ahead at the airport. The comments made by reporters were tactful, speculating that she could be tired. But I thought she was behaving in a rather arrogant manner, and I am very perturbed by it. Hey, she's supposed to be a really nice person too. What happened?

Buying Oranges Part II

At the Krokop Wet Market again ....

I saw some oranges. They looked rather fresh. The sign in written Chinese said "Sweet Orange", RM1.50 per piece.

Looking perfectly alright,
firm and fresh

So I grabbed a few and dropped them in the plastic bag that I was given. When I got home, I was shocked to see the other end of the oranges ...

What the ... !!!!

It was probably my fault for not taking the time to select the oranges. RM1.50 per piece? For a blemished orange? No way!!! Mom could get one of those at RM0.50 per piece!! What a rip-off!

I vow to be more wary of the shrewd fruit sellers at the market.

Associated With Taiwan

I was keeping tabs on SSH and KTH, and yesterday the netizens went abuzz with news of them going for a promotional stint of their drama inTaiwan.

It was one of the rare occasions that fans get to see the two actors coming together again, after their drama. They travelled on the same flight, but what got tongues wagging was the colour-coded outfits that the two were seen to be wearing. Both were wearing a white top and dark coloured pants. Was it a "couple clothes" since yesterday, being the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, coincided with the Chinese Valentine's day?

It's black .... it's white ...

Love that Balenciaga bag
(Credit as labelled)

Many Heonhee (as the SSH-KTH pairing is referred to) shippers are keeping their fingers crossed to see the relationship between these two blossom into something more. Hence, there are a lot of speculation online. I rather enjoy reading all those stuff netizens write in the various forums about the two actors. They are certainly a fertile lot with their imagination running wild. Lol.

Anyway, I had fun watching the press conference on Youtube.

Coincidentally, I had lunch at Miri Taiwan Restaurant today. We had a beef soup.

Beef Soup
The broth tasted rich and beefy, but wait a minute, where is the beef?

There ... the beef chunks were tender and infused with the flavour of the
spices. However, there were but 3 chunks in the whole bowl. Quite pathetic.

Together with the soup, we had Zhajiang Mian ...

Zhajiang Mian had minced pork, tofu dices, lettuce, preserved veg, but I found
the flavours confusing ... ;))
Couldn't "get" the taste ...

And also a glass of the Taiwanese Pearl Bubble Tea ...

The tea was rich, milky, frothy, and I love the sago pearls which were chewy ...
I like and I fear that I can get addicted to Pearl Bubble Tea anytime ;p

Well, going back to read up on my fav celebs ... cheers.

Traditional Fare I Love

I have fallen in love with these little rice packages. Well, I did not use to like it as I found the texture of the mashed rice inside the leaf to be rather icky.

A basketful of rice packages

It was at the end of last year that I started to like it, and now I LOVE IT LOTS!! I like it really warm, cause it brings out that unique aroma of the leaf. The rice itself is fragrant, soft yet chewy. I was told that a lot of work goes into preparing these rice packages. Rice has got to be pounded, cooked, and wrapped when it's still steaming hot.

I love to eat the rice with tapioca leaves stir-fry. It was just very satisfying!!

These tapioca leaves were shredded by hand and stir-fried with anchovies.
I assure you, sedap!!!!!!

That evening, we had some heavenly barbecued pork to make dinner a perfect meal!!

Lean pork belly marinated with preserved plums and salt and grilled over charcoal.
Simply divine!!!

There were other items on the table, but I was not very interested in any of them. Rice with tapioca leaves and barbecued pork was more than sufficient for me. :))

Selfishness

All people are selfish in nature ....