Enamel Ware

Enamel ware chip easily, and then rust. So they are not commonly used anymore these days.

I remember using them, however, at my grandparents' place .... a long, long time ago. Because of that, for me,  enamel plates bring an old-fashioned feel to things.

I searched at home, and .... found 2 enamel plates. One regular-sized one with floral pattern. It's really old as it's already chipped and the parts of the smaller flower petals had already faded ...

And old enamel plate ... 

The other one I managed to locate at home as a huge plate, which seemed almost like a rounded tray. That one was not used anymore. It was kept high up on the shelf ... so I did not bother to take it down. 

I accompanied Mom to the market the other day ... and was searching for enamel plates to buy .... There were some sold at a small shop there. An elderly couple manned the shop. I saw some coloured enamel ware ... 

"Any floral patterned ones?" I asked.

"No, only these coloured ones. The flower ones are out of fashion," the elderly lady replied.

Lols. Exactly why I wanted to buy them. But since there wasn't much choice, I bought one beige-coloured piece.

My new beige-coloured enamel plate, RM2.20 

I ate my lunch with it the other day. Mom had cooked me my favourite rice vermicelli and cangkuk manis stirfry. But then, the plate exuded a very pitiful feeling ...... lols .... so instead of enjoying my noodles, it made me feel sorry for myself! 

Pork & Prawn Dumplings

I am so fortunate. I am so spoilt. For Second Aunt made these dumplings especially for me ....

Yummy Homemade Dumplings ... 

The filling .... 

I love Second Aunt's dumplings. She was really generous with ingredients, and filled each dumpling with wonderfully flavoured minced pork and fresh prawn. Indeed the meats were still soaking in their juices inside each dumpling. Absolutely delicious! Thanks, Second Aunt!

Durian Puff Pastry

Fourth Aunt bought some durian puffs from Imperial Duck. They are sold in threes ... for RM6.00 per set.  So that means that it's RM2.00 per piece.

Durian Puff Pastry ... see the durian filling which escaped from the pastry case ....

And the layered or puffed up pastry on the other side ... 

I had a piece of the elegant-looking, triangular pastry ... and I must say that I was impressed with the pastry case. It was light and flaky, and very pleasant to the palate. The filling was durian paste, which tasted very subtle.

Fourth Aunt loved it so much. A must-order for her every time.

Dad thought it was not worth the price.

Mom, like me, enjoyed the pastry skin.

I think I would have liked the filling to be a little more robust in flavour. It is after all, durian, a fruit which is meant to provide plenty of kick in terms of aroma and taste. This one looked and tasted very delicate. It made me feel high class! ;p

Sweet Longevity Noodles

It's grandma's birthday today ... well, according to the lunar Chinese calendar. Otherwise, it's in the month of April. Grandma's 91 years old this year. She's not very mobile these days and confined to her room. Hence, no big do this year for this occasion.

My uncles and aunts dropped by ... and bought some goodies for Grandma ... like biscuits and snacks ... Fifth Aunt brought for her a homemade birthday cake.

Me? I bought her a pretty cup cake ....

So pretty ..... from The Lof Bakery

And wrapped for her a tiny food hamper .... 

For grandma .... 

Grandma said I was a good girl. Indeed. Lols ...

But of all the things that she ate on that day, Grandma loved the sweet longevity noodles the most! She finished the whole bowl, and raved about it later. Very nice, she kept saying. Did you eat it? It's really delicious, she repeated. 

Traditional Sweet Longevity Noodles

At home, Dad was the one who cooked this dish. Cause he liked it too, so he had learned to cook it the way he liked it. So I sat in the kitchen and observed while Dad went about cooking this sweet noodle dish ....

2 hard-boiled eggs, and a roll of raw egg noodle ...

In a small pot, Dad boiled some water with screwpine or pandan leaves .... then he loosened and put in the noodles. Cook for about 3 minutes till it softened. As the noodles cooked, the broth had become thick, stachy and sticky. Dad then added some sugar into the pot, he stirred it and let the noodles simmer for another 3 minutes .... and finally serve it with the shelled hard-boiled eggs. Easy peasy.

Traditional Sweet Longevity Noodles as Dad liked it .... 

Well .... I did eat a little bit of the noodles ... and it tasted rich of eggs, flour, and was fragrant because of the pandan-flavoured broth. I was not too crazy about it though.

Anyway, it was such a simple dish to prepare, yet rich with flavour and deep in meaning.  Most importantly, Grandma found this traditional sweet treat to be very satisfying. 

Here's wishing Grandma sweetness in all of her days, good health and happiness. Happy birthday!  

Biscuit Sticks

I had a craving for biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate .... i.e. that of Pocky or Pepero. A browse at my local supermarket yielded me this ...

Pepero, RM3.50

Yayy! It was just what I wanted, and even more, cause it was coated not only with chocolate but with chopped almonds. 

Yummy ... 

There were only 9 sticks in a pack .... hardly enough to satisfy me ;p 

Going back to the supermarket to buy some more ........................

Guilt-Free Agar

The weather was really hot for the past few days. So I wanted something cold and refreshing .... like agar-agar jelly.

So I bought RM4.20 worth of agar-agar from the grocery store ... and set out to cook it. Hmn ... I seldom made anything on my own ... so Mom doubted my culinary skills plenty! And while I was cooking it, she supervised.

Pandan-flavoured Agar Jelly in Mould .... 

Chilled & ready to eat .... 

Hmn .... my agar jellies were fragrant and springy .... but they weren't sweet at all .... cause I put in too little sugar. Nonetheless, that made it guilt-free! It made a great non-sweet dessert on a hot, hot evening!

Homemade Kueh

It's Qing Ming, a time where the Chinese community pay homage to their ancestors by visiting their graves. It's a big affair, and typically, offering includes lots of food! Examples include roasted chicken, roasted duck, roasted pork, deep-fried fish, fruits, and also local cakes or "kueh".

My family visited the my grandfather's grave, and also my great-grandparents' graves yesterday. They set off early in the morning at 5.00 a.m. Why so early? Cause they wanted to beat the crowd, and they wanted to do their offering while the morning weather was still cool. I did not go with them this year, even though I had the opportunity. My task was to accompany grandma at home.

After the offering, the food would be distributed among the relatives. Mom and Dad makes sure everyone gets equal parts of the duck, and chicken, and pork, and fruits and "kueh" .... Fair and square to prevent any petty squabbling ... ;p

And so, there are lots of "kueh" at home at this time around because of this occasion. Sometimes, we ordered the "kueh" from specific vendors, but this year, Mom made them herself! She made 100 pieces of Rice-wrapped peaches and about 20 "Cai kueh" ...

 My lunch ...

A pan-fried rice-wrapped peach .... 

And a pan-fried "Cai Kueh" or vegetable dumpling ... 

Yummy ... nothing beats homemade dumplings, that are compactly filled with fragrant ingredients. Lunch was pretty enjoyable that day!

My Own Wrap

I bought a packet of tortilla wraps from Aeon Maluri the other day. It was only RM6.90. In Miri, the exact packet of 8 wraps sold for near RM20.00 at one supermarket! Daylight robbery, I would say!

Anyway .... I made my own wrap for lunch. I could basically fill it with anything I liked. So I searched the fridge, and settled for whatever that was in there ...

Homemade wrap ...

And I had some roasted chicken breast, some shredded sweet cabbage, some shredded carrots, tomato wedges, cheddar cheese, and some Kewpie mayonnaise. I toasted my wrap for a 2 minutes, and then arranged all the ingredients before squeezing some mayo and sprinkling some black pepper on top. Then, roll. The wrap was rather small in diametre, and I could not put in too much ingredients. Unfortunately, cause I liked my roll to be thick and fat. I enjoyed my lunch tremendously. Easy, fast, and yummy. ;)

Going Blue

Well .... I was in a blue mood the other day, and therefore, blue it was. On my toes, I meant. ;p

O.P.I. NLU04 Swimsuit ... Nailed It
from the Miss Universe 2011 collection. I loved the beautiful vibrant and shimmery blue on my nails.

My regular manicurist has increased her prices ... from RM28 to RM32 to RM35, and now RM40! All within a year and a half! Gosh .... so since it was expensive, I started to stray ....

The other day, I decided to try Nail's Earth, cause a friend said it was nice there. So I called up, made an appointment and headed to the outlet at Boulevard Commercial Centre. It also charged RM40.

I spent a long time browsing the selection of colours. I wanted a dark shade. But not brown or purple as they bore me. Not red or orange hues ... as I was sick of them. So I decided to stick to another shade of blue, and this one was the latest O.P.I Euro Central Spring Collection 2013. The colours arrived only last week, according to the staff.

E72 Eurso Euro

This colour was described as a deep blue creme. To me, it was a rich and intense shade of ultramarine. Beautiful.  I know I will enjoy wearing this colour.

Why Did I Even Bother?

I am very upset today.

I spent a good part of the morning making calls to parents, inviting them to come to the Meet-The-Parents session on Saturday morning. Most of the parents whom I talked to, had no idea that such an event was being organised.

It only meant that their children had kept them in the dark. The school had sent an official letter to the parents through their children, coupled with a feedback form. All but eight forms came back negative. It was really pathetic.

I mean, I understood why. Which child would want his or her parents to talk to the teacher about how their academic performance, especially when he or she wasn't doing so well. Indeed, this batch of students have NOT performed. Never mind that they did not perform, they had really BAD attitude. They were the thorns in my flesh, pricking me till I bled to death!

Anyway, now that they knew about the event, most parents would try to make it to the school - some for the very first time - to talk to the teachers. Which parent does not want his or her child to realise his or her potential? Which parent does not want to see his or her child to score good results?  Which parent does not want to help his or her child to excel?

There was this parent who was standing in front of me. She was there to fetch her child home ... and I invited her to come for the event.

"See first," she said.

"They are all very busy; they need to be at the shop," the child said.

"It's not going to take much of your time," I insisted.

"I'll see first," said the mother, brushing me off.  

"Don't you want to talk to the teacher?" I asked.

"I tell them everything," replied the daughter. "I even tell them that I sleep in class."

"Sleep in class?" the mother said, dismayed.

"The students need to do better for the exam ... why don't you just come and talk to the teacher," I suggested.

"Maybe ask the father to come," she replied. She avoided eye contact with me.  

"Don't you want to know how your daughter is doing in class?" I refused to give up. 

She mumbled something and then left, her daughter trailing after her. 

If this mother was indifferent to how her daughter was doing in school, WHY DID I EVEN BOTHER TO CARE ABOUT IT? URGGGH!!!

Walkers

There were 6 small packets with 3 different flavours in a variety pack. I thought it was great as I could get to try different the crisps in different flavours.

 Love the colourful packaging! 

Each flavour tasted distinctively different, all yum. But what struck me the most was that the crisps tasted really fresh, meaning that they weren't on the supermarket shelf for too long.

Potato crisps 

 I enjoyed the crispy crunch of the chips tremendously.

Curry House

We sat around the dining table for a while .... deciding where to go for dinner. Though still undecided, we took the car and drove to Permy Jaya Commercial Centre. We made 2 rounds around the shops before we finally opted to have dinner at Curry House.

And we made the right choice, because the menu here was rather extensive. There were rice and dishes and noodles too.

I was interested in the Kacangma Chicken and the Chicken Curry. But unfortunately for me, Kacangma Chicken was sold out. Oh, by the way, for those who do not know, Kacangma Chicken is a stew of chicken in ginger, herbs and rice wine. It is a dish peculiar to Sarawak.

We asked the lady to recommend to us the other signature dishes at the eatery, besides the curry ... and she recommended to us the braised pork and the deep-fried meat roll. And so we had ....

Braised pork rice, RM5.50

Both of us shared the rice, which was served with slices of braised pork. The meat was very lean and tender,  and the sauce was on the sweet side. Though it tasted alright, it was not really outstanding.

Meat roll, RM6.00 per piece

The meat roll was superb. The filling was made up of pork, was tight and compact and had bite. The beancurd skin wrapper was deep-fried till crispy, but was not greasy at all. I was never fond of meat rolls, but this one enticed me to polish off 3 pieces! 

Chicken curry, RM9.90

This bowl had 2 large chunks of meat. The chicken was totally infused with the flavour of curry, and was tender. Yums. The gravy was very thick and very rich ... not too spicy, yet boasted of a wonderful blend of curry spices. It was VERY GOOD! Highly recommended. 

 

Mixed vegetables stir-fry, RM9.90

The medley of vegetables were still crunchy and lightly flavoured. Yum to eat with rice. 

Together with 2 drinks, we paid RM34.80 for the meal. Not very cheap, but I would say that the quality of the food was good. Will I come back? Yes, definitely. I want to have Kacangma next time! 

Citrus Piasau

From my previous experiences, the food at Citrus did not really leave an impression. So when my friends wanted to eat at the branch at Piasau, hmn .... naturally I was not so enthusiastic. But well, I'd give anything a try .....

When we walked into the shop, we picked a table by the front window panel ... and it was dirty. So we asked a staff to clean it. He told us the table was reserved and asked us to be seated elsewhere.

"Where? No sign," I answered back. He said he would put the sign later. I was unhappy, and I could have argued. But lucky for him, I did not want to make a scene. I contemplated walking out to head somewhere else for dinner though.

Anyway, we chose another table at the corner inside the restaurant and started perusing the menu ...

The menu .... and a lovely bucket containing cutlery and serviettes

We had ....

Sampler for Two, RM20.90
It had beef meatballs, crispy breaded fish and prawns, and baked mussels ...
I liked the breaded and deep-fried seafood which were crispy and tasty, especially when dipped in the tartare sauce. The mussels were alright, but all of us thought the meatballs were a tad too salty.


Curry Chicken Bowl, RM13.90
A generous helping of spiced up thick creamy chicken curry in toasted bread bowl ...
Well, the curry lived up to its description, for it was really thick not only with cream, but with curry spices. Though thick, the flavours were rightly balanced. There were potato and tender chicken chunks in there ... and I quite enjoyed tearing up the bread to mop up the curry before devouring it.

Linguine Marinara, RM16.90

It's got fish slices, prawns and mussels. That was good. But I think the flavour of this tomato-based pasta could be improved. It basically tasted very prominently of tomatoes .... and that was about it.

Golden treasure, RM11.90

Fragrant fried rice, smothered with white sauce, sprinkled with cheese and baked with golden fried fish on top. I liked this dish ... it was moist because of the rich and creamy white sauce ... and it had a faint buttery taste. The fish was rather surprisingly crispy, and the play of texture with the soft rice was rather interesting. 

Honey mudslide, RM9.90

This was coffee and chocolate ice-cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate shavings ...

The ice-cream tower almost collapsed when the waiter put it on our table. Lols .... this was basically just ice-cream. So ... how can ice-cream go wrong? 

So ... after such a long hiatus ... this was the first time I went back to Citrus for a meal. I'd say that there were some hits and misses, but at least ... I think the food improved. That's nice to know. And I know I'd be back. 

No. 2!

I was not nervous. At least that was what I told myself.

My hands shaking a little, I cut open the result slips one by one in no particular order. I  peeked into each slip of paper and then keyed in the results into the computer. I was trying hard to focus, in case I keyed in the wrong thing.

I opened one student's result slip, and was overjoyed that she had gotten 4 A's.

"Yessss!" I said to my myself. That makes two.  For I was so certain that the other student would obtain 4 A's even though I had not looked at her results. 

Unfortunately, I was in for a major disappointment. The person whom I was so sure would obtain 4 A's did not.

Well, STPM results were announced yesterday, and I must say that my students did really well. I had 1 person scoring 4 A's, and 4 persons scoring 3A's and 1B. We maintained a 100% pass, though our CGPA dropped a little.

And from hearsay, we topped the schools in Sarawak again. This time, we were no. 2! 

The format for STPM had changed to the semester system, with STPM 2012, being the final year that STPM was examined the old way. And I am so proud to say that we ENDED the exam with a bang! 

Congratulations to all the students! 

Bitching Over Bananas

"Where did you get the bananas?" the girl behind the weighing counter asked me. She spoke to me in Malay. 

I had placed on the counter, in a clear plastic bag 3 banana fruits. 

"There," I pointed to the combs of Cavendish bananas on display at the rack, beside the weighing counter.

"Show me where you got them from," she insisted.

Apparently, I was not to separate the fruits from the combs on display. If I wanted to buy, I had to buy the whole comb.

I took the comb which I had taken my 3 fruits from, and showed it to her. It consisted of 6 fruits in a perfect comb. Just a smaller comb compared to the rest.

"You have to take them all. I'm afraid other people may not want to buy it anymore," she said, of the comb of banana which I had taken the 3 fruits from.

"It's too much for me," I said. 

"You just can't buy them like that. Take them all," she continued, insistent. 

I was getting impatient. For one, I was in a hurry. I was merely dropping by to get my weekly supply of fruits. And this girl here was delaying me. 

So I decided to be a bitch and I steadfastly refused to buy them like she insisted.

For another, her reasoning did not seem logical to me. Why wouldn't other people want to buy that comb of  6 bananas like she had claimed? It looked perfectly alright. I HAD NOT mutilated or severed the fruits. I had merely plucked from the edges, 3 fruits which I wanted to buy. And I did it neatly too. The comb which I had left behind on the rack was  intact. It was just a SMALLER comb, compared to the the others. 

Plus, I did not want to take the blame. If the supermarket did not want people to pluck bananas off the combs of fruit, they COULD HAVE and SHOULD HAVE placed a notice there. I did not see any notice which forbade people to do so. I had ALWAYS bought only the few bananas that I needed - be it at Aeon Midvalley or Supa Save Seria, Brunei. I NEVER got into trouble. Perhaps things were different here in my own backyard.

And, why should I buy MORE than I needed to?

"Weigh these first," I told her, pointing to my bags of oranges and apples. 

She did it reluctantly, her face sour. Then, she alerted her supervisor. He came and she explained to situation to him.

He looked at my bananas in the bag .... and he looked at the shelf .... and he said, "Never mind." 

Sulking, she weighed my 3 bananas. I could not decide whether she was unhappy with him for NOT siding her, or whether she was angry with me, or both. But I could not care less. I got what I wanted and I was off.

Actually, I must commend the girl because she was just doing her job. She was responsible. And she was probably looking out for the interest of the supermarket. For that she deserved to be the employee of the month. ;p Or perhaps she was afraid that I had mutilated the fruits, which I did not.

She was just rather unlucky to have encountered me, who stubbornly refused to budge. Normally, I would be agreeable, and I would purchase if I had to. Perhaps it was the way she spoke to me which ticked me off ... and turned me into a bitch! ;p

Well, I would suggest that the supermarket sell the bananas in smaller combs, so that people like me would not tear the bananas apart. 

Chicken Chop

I like Taiwanese style chicken chop. This one was rather crispy, and was not too greasy. The chicken was tender and quite well-marinated. It was quite tasty.

A piece sells for RM7.00 at Jingwood Cafe at Pelita Commercial Centre.

It was dark and a rancid odour permeated the air .... I think it was from the nearby drain; it was hot and it was uncomfortable ... yet this place was filled with diners. No joke, it must have been the food here that attracts people ......

Umai

Umai is Sarawak's answer to sushi. It's essentially a spicy seafood salad, made using raw fish or prawns. This dish has its origins in the Melanau culture, an ethnic tribe here in Malaysia. The Melanau people pride themselves to be fishermen, and umai is their staple food.

These days. this traditional delicacy is not confined only to the Melanaus. Folks all over Sarawak enjoy a good serving of umai.

Umai requires no cooking. All that is done is to marinate raw fish slices in a concoction of fresh chillies, calamansi lime juice, shallots, ginger and salt. The fish is generally marinated till it turns white or opaque.

Umai

I love umai! The flavours from the few ingredients are just do wonders to the fish! As a result, the freshness of the fish is enhance by its zesty, tangy, spicy and pungent accompaniments. It tickles the palate, and whets up your appetite. A very light, refreshing and appetising dish indeed. Do try Umai when you get the opportunity. I am confident that you'll like it too! 

Breakfast @ 88 Cafe

There was this new stall selling Kueh Chap, Laksa, and Mee Suah at 88 Cafe. The previous vendor had passed away, bless his soul.

We had breakfast the other day here at 88 Cafe, and decided to give the Kueh Chap and Laksa a try.

Laksa

Hmn ... look at the diluted gravy. This laksa needed more work. 

Kueh Chap

Of the two, the Kueh Cahp fared slightly better. The broth was clearer compared to that of most vendor's. As a result, it had a lighter taste. The meats and offals were tender. So Kueh Chap was alright, but it was certainly not great. 

Lots of people at this packed coffee shop, though. Busy, busy place on a Sunday morning. 

Fraud

Credit card frauds are rampant. This is my second experience, but with different cards and different banks.


It all started when I was alerted of a possible fraud made on my card. The alert came in a form of a transaction verification notice, which the bank mailed a week earlier via Pos Ekspress.

I was busy and did not attend to the notice till the next morning. I checked online and noticed an outstanding balance of RM2202.28 posted. No transaction history was recorded.

The next step would be to call the service centre. I was glad that the officer was pleasant and very helpful.
I was informed that there was an internet transaction with a US-based merchant. It was also explained to me that the bank had failed to verify this transaction with me by phone because my contact number. Upon checking with me, it was discovered that my phone number was wrongly recorded in the system.

Well, this particular credit card  was a spare for me, It had NEVER been used since activation. I had NO KNOWLEDGE of the transaction, and  I had NEVER authorised it.

I was advised to dispute the matter with the bank, which I did promptly.

Investigation is still pending ....

Bitter Gourd Stirfry

My friend blessed me with a packet of pre-cut bitter gourd which she bought from the supermarket. A whole pack of it with some shredded carrot and cut fresh chillies for only RM1.00!

I had to cook it for lunch, else it would be taking up space in the fridge. What I did was to cook the marinated meatballs first with just a tablespoon of liquid. Then I dished them out and reserved the stock.

Then I sauted some garlic in oil till browned, and then threw in all the vegetables, the meatballs, the stock and  a beaten egg .... and stir-fried till everything cooked. I seasoned the vegetables with some fish sauce.

Bitter Gourd Stirfry

I had it with white rice. And it tasted much better than I thought it would! Yums ... healthy ... and cheap.

Earrings

I was sitting in a meeting .... listening to the P. Unconsciously, I brought my fingers to my ear lobes and this was followed by a shriek. Oh no! One side of my earring was missing! And I had not realised it. Till that moment, that is. Immediately, my eyes searched the chair I was sitting on .... the floor .... but it was not there. Try the car, my colleague said. And I went to my car but could not find anything either.

I jogged my memory to trace back what I had done the previous day so that I might be able to locate it ... When I got back home, I searched my bed ... my pillows ... the floor back in the house and in my room .... nothing. I searched the floors in the bathroom .... the bath drain ... the sink ... and all yielded nothing.

Darn .... I'd been wearing that same pair of tiny thin white gold hoop earrings ... for close to four years now. They were real fine, only 0.9 cm in diametre and less than 0.2 cm in thickness. Though not very valuable, I was annoyed. It was not so much the money, I was annoyed that it rendered the other side useless.

Besides this pair, I had another pair of white gold studs ... which I did not really like wearing, so there was a possibility that I had to go earring shopping over the weekend.

Somehow, the doggedness in me refused to give up yet .... and I continued my search around the house, only to finally findit atop the bathroom cabinet. Somebody must have found it in the bathroom and had put it there. Amazing!

Lost .... then found ;)) 

I asked my friend, and she said she had found it on the bathroom floor. She actually stepped on it ... and realised that I might have dropped it! Yippie! Meaning that I must have had dropped it that morning while in the shower! 

But then, that weekend ... I was at the mall .... and I saw the magic word in front of the jeweller's. SALE. There was no need to buy any earring now. Nonetheless, I sauntered into the shop to browse at the sparkling bling on display. I looked at the white gold earrings ... and just for fun, I tried a pair or two. There wasn't much variety for small hoop earrings ... the designs were more or less the same. I did not like big hoops, as I thought they made me look old. They had to be small and suitable for daily wear.

Then, I found a pair which I liked. Small, and in the shape of a teardrop on the lobes and glittered in the light. I made up my mind immediately. I wanted that pair of earrings.

With that successful sale, the lady coaxed me to buy white gold rings .... some were on 70% discount. Very worth it, she told me. I spent some time choosing rings .... but did not take to any of them. So worth it or not, I was not buying.

Without thinking, I crossed over to the side of the shop where gold jewellery was on display. I looked at the earrings in the glass case too .... and saw a pair of gold and white gold hoop earrings. Instinctively, I knew it would look good on me. I put them on and immediately fell in love. They were just the right size! And the shone and sparkled on my lobes. Very pretty.

So I had to buy them .... and for both pairs, I paid RM440.00. Sigh. Initially, I thought I had to buy a pair to replace the one I lost. Then, there was no need to buy anymore when I managed to find it. But then I ended up buying two pairs. I guess girls are invariably attracted to pretty things! ;p

Hearty Beef Bone & Rice Vermicelli Soup

My colleague made this. Amazing, eh?

My bowl of Beef Bone & Rice Vermicelli Soup

What amazed me was the fact that he did not compromise on the condiments. He brought to the office a large container of vermicelli, and an enormous pot of the beef bone soup ... and with chunks of beef bone still swimming inside. Then there were MORE containers filled with blanched black fungus, chopped spring onions and coriander, chopped garlic, lime, and chopped chillies in soy sauce. Wow!

Taste wise, needless to say, it was all homemade goodness. Yums ... many of us had second helpings.

Good Old Ham & Cheese Sandwich

Since I was eating bread a lot, I thought I would buy some ham. The other day at Supa Save, I bought 6 slices of Primo honey leg ham ... 6 slices for B$6.85 ... so that would be about RM17.00. Expensive, huh?

Assembling my own sandwich ... 

A slice of Primo honey leg ham, a slice of cheddar cheese, lots of butterhead lettuce, cherry tomatoes ...

Just pile them up on a slice of bread ... squeeze some Kewpie mayonnaise and top with another slice of bread ... 

Healthy and yums ... 

There I had my simple meal of a good old ham and cheese sandwich .... done within minutes and simply delicious!

The Door

At Soon Lee Mega Mart, Kuala Belait, the girls were urgently searching for the washroom.

"Over the other side," the cashier informed me.

It's near the trolleys at the other entrance, my friend said, and proceeded to lead us there.

I went into a cubicle and found that I could not close the door!

Look at that horrid looking door ... there was a notice that said press to close and press to open .... but there was nothing to press and I simply could not close the door ...

So I walked out of the cubicle and happened to see another notice at the other side of the door. It said ... 

Angkat saja kalau tutup =)

or in English

Lift door to close =)

And so I marched back into the cubicle ... and lightly lifted the door and it promptly closed! Well, thanks for the instruction to shut the door! Except that it's pasted on the wrong side. For a rich country such as Brunei, can't some upgrade be done to the toilet door? Geez.

Excapade Sushi

The girls went to Brunei to shop .... because Supa Save Seria had just re-opened its doors not long ago. There was a new building ... and the supermarket was bigger and better, and lined with a myriad of imported products. So how could the girls resist?

I bought only junk ....

My favourite chocolates ... and potato chips ... and roasted almonds ... and apricot nut bars ... and waters ... 

Of course, a stop at Excapade was compulsory. ;p We had ....

 Wakame, B$2.00

 Seasoned scallops, B$3.80

Seasoned jellyfish, B$3.80

Salmon Maki, B$2.50

 Unagi maki, B$3.80

Cheese maki, B$2.00

Fried chicken maki, B$2.00 .... thought it was soft-shell crab but it wasn't

Mini california rolls, B$3.80

Mini california rolls special, B$3.00

Sushi sandwich, B$3.00

Salmon sashimi, B$15.00

Grilled salmon fish head in teriyaki sauce, B$4.50

Crispy Salmon Skin, B$2.00

And for dessert, we had mochi ...

 Mochi filled with black sesame paste ... the skin was slightly warm, soft and chewy and the paste inside was not too sweet .... yum ...  

For our meal, we paid B$66.70 ... about RM41.35 per person based on the exchange rate .... this time around I had enjoyed the lunch!