i am what i am

Missing In Action

2008-07-19T12:57:00.005+08:00

staff pass

lift lobby at 4th floor

my desk with MAC

our dept, cool props

more properties props

my desk, no more MAC (phew!)

other depts next to us

our break area
(free drinks for staff from vending machines)

our break area
(cosy booths)

its been 18 days
since i last blogged
days passed very fast
when you are working
really cannot keep up
with blogging everyday anymore

all i can summarized is
for my last 19 days at work
has beem fulfilling, satisfying
though working after 8 is a norm
I am not complaining
well, at least not for NOW.
colleagues and supperiors are great
environment easy to blend in
plenty of freedon and flexibility.
i guessed its the culture of this company

our lunch hour is always somthing
to look forward to
colleagues are adventurous
to lunch far and out:
chinatown, wisma, harbourfront, bras basah
just to name a few for now.

come this Oct we wouldnt be enjoying
these little adventures anymore
we are moving out of atrium@orchard! :"(
HR has named some possible locations
loyang (boo!), changi (boo!), imm (happy),
capricorn at science park (boo!),
100 near harbourfront (boo!)
but they are still looking
but hinted that renting
office space in orchard road strip
is no longer possible due to sky high rental

so much for the sad news.
the good news is i have received my pay!
yar, it was credited into my acct
on 15th July and its a full months' pay
check with bee lan and she confirmed
our pay day is 15th of every month
its as good as every staff
gets an advancement
of their half months' pay ahead!
wah! american company rulez man!

till next time i blog (dont ask me when)
hopefully we will know
where we are moving too

Day ONE at Work - MTV/Nickelodeon Viacom Consumers Product

2008-07-01T22:31:00.006+08:00

was almost late this morning for work
traffic jam at BKE/PIE
unexpected even though
day One starts work at 10 am.
made it on time
even to go 'PS'
'anxiety shit' la :"P

introduction and office tour
orientations start
with my dept managers
they are fun people
no air no problem
GREAT team, seriously!

bee lan was my appointed buddy
(whom i have known for many years)
omar, my senior director
who also started work today
and whom i am reporting to
is also someone i already knew since
my Warner Bros / Cartoon Network days
its like one big family gather ubder the same roof again.
AND EVER so coincidentally
Indra, Omar and myself all share
the same birthday on August 10!
How much more 'family' can that be!

lunch break was brief
cos its back to orientation again
at 2.30 and ended at 5.30

so its back to organising my desk
'orientation' with the MAC **sweat**
sooooo not used to it **CRY**

my Day One ended at around 7.30
left with bee lan
looking forward to day Two.

my last 'rotting' day at home

2008-06-30T17:24:00.004+08:00

9.30 am was at MTV office
to sign my appointment letter
their staff benefits are GOOD!
annual leave is 18 days
additional 3 days of Family leave
so i get 21 days a year!
wow!

now i know why the lady
from HR has such a 'thick' accent
she is wearing dental braces
ha! no wonder..
sorry about that
i will get my staff pass tmrw
and yes stationery are provided

had a brief meet up with jack
who walked me thru the dept
introducing me
jack said bee lan, my friend
is my appointed buddy for lunch and all
hahahahah, that is great!
tmrw Omar will come onboard too
and i reports to him
knew Omar briefly thru
Cartoon Network
but not well
dont think he remembers me
but my name should ring bell

all that settled in my new office
i sped down to The Arcade
to do my medical check up
as required by the company

the wait was brisk and orderly:
registration, urine test, chest x ray,
blood test, eye test,
weight & height measurements
and finally meet the doctor
test results will be sent to office

strike by hunger pangs
headed for the dingy HAN'S
at the basement for quick lunch
and my caffein fix :")
the lunch crowd was begining to fall in
better get out now

sms cousin gillian
who's office was nearby
and we ended up meeting
to jalan jalan abit
i am really not a shenton way gal
so i am not interested
to hang around the area for long
the afternoon heat, the LUNCH CROWD
eeeeewwwwww, i better run man!

got back home
did all the laundry
got on the net
to finish up
all my unfinished blogs
for the last 2 days

ok, gotta go
loads of form to fill in
to be handed back to HR tmrw
and loads of materials to read
Spongebob, Patrick, Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, Avatar,
and other friends whom i can't recall now
see you all at work tmrw!

catch up on saturday & sunday

2008-06-29T21:19:00.018+08:00

SATURDAY 28.06.2008

pandan cake baked on friday: worst crack ever!

remember in my Friday's blog

i mentioned i was baking

Pandan cake for 5th aunty

instead i created an EARTHQUAKE! :"P

the top part was so badly cracked

that ah lim said it looked like

Volcano craters!

hahahhahah...so bad! :"P

but luckily

apart from the ugly 'topping'

the cake is still very much edible

pandan cake baked on saturday, still cracked but taste not affected

orange chiffon cake baked on Saturday: beautiful!

so i decided to bake a new one on Saturday
together with another orange chiffon cake
for my regular family gathering on Saturday
sad to say, the pandan cake still cracked
but better than Friday's
taste wise also not affected
but the surprise was
the orange cake baked in
a round cake tin instead
of the tin with cone
and the result was good too
YEAH! 5th Aunty liked
she said this orange cake
better than the previous one
that she complained too 'egg-gy' taste
of course la
cos that previous one
i 'hamtam' only
use Pandan cake recipe
to bake Orange cake!
Hahahahahah....
i have also attached here
lydia's peach & apricot cake
baked on Saturday
Nice!
she said i should try bake this
ok i will try on my off days

lydia's peach & apricot cake

National Day 2008 rehearsal at Farrer Road:
air display - heartshape

air display : fan (i think)

National Day is nearing
9th August
and Farrer Road's skies
will be swarm with
air fighters and helicoptors
practising for their air display
BEST SPOT to catch
all the spectacular display

SUNDAY 29.06.2008

saw this new BABY G : nice!

went for hair cut this morning
my 'nest' up there need a trim
and relaxing the curls on my fringe
will be good too
as for colouring
i will save it until 2 weeks later
to do it with lydia
(must save $$$ first) :"P

while getting my 'nest' fixed
i was reading some magazine
saw this latest Baby G watch
red face, like rubber strap
and analog face
kinda like it
wonder how much
time to visit Lorraine again
at Prestige Watch :"P

New discovery for great passport photo-shoot

told Chris i needed to take
some photos to make staff pass
so gave me that extra touch
to my nice haif cut with hair spray
she and the shampoo girl Alfie
both strongly recommended
this small photo shop at Lucky Plaza

so i went
the shop so tiny
i almost walked pass it
the price board says:
$10 for 8 copies (passport size)
additional $3 for photo touch up
additional $10 for soft copy on cd

the 'studio' is so small
that when u r taking your shot
you get Filipinas looking at you
they were all over the shop
this you must be able to overcome
the photographery uses a pro camera
no light effects
and you have to hold
the reflection board yourself
NO HAIR & MAKE UP PROVIDED
hahahahah...

i chose to touch up the photo
cos of my OBK and
that irritation brown sun spot on my cheek
all in i pay:
$10 - 8 copies + $10 soft copy
touch up FREE he said
so 'ho kang' (hahahaha)
ready for collection
within 10 mins
the result of the photo
VERY SATISFIED!

here's the address to share:
ALLAN CHENG PHOTOGRAPHER
#B1-107 Lucky Plaza
Mon-Fri: 10 am - 7 pm
Sat: 1 pm - 6 pm
sun: 9.30 am - 6.30 pm

day FIVE, letter of offer

2008-06-27T13:25:00.004+08:00

safety helmets?

no la, these are jello-like cake mold!

comes in nice colours too!

so i 'demoted' myself
to a lower level
Jack called this morning
they agreed
so now i am a
Brand Assurance Senior Executive
no more a Manager
a huge weight off my shoulders

HR called after that,
an ang mo lady
whose accent is so 'thick'
i tried very hard
to catch her 'ang mo'
so monday morning 9.30 am
i will sign the L.O.A
eerrr....i didnt catch her name
**smack head**
never mind la
monday then see how

so with that all done
left for brunch
went to shop n'save
and those rubbery cake mold
caught my eyes
looked like safety helmets to me
so colourful like lego
but so soft
how to bake?
and they cost $10 each!
eeewwww!

came back and started
sorting out my stationeries
don't know if they do supply
but better bring my own
must remember to pack in
my sweater too
the office is kind of COLD
when i last went
BBbbrrrrrrrr.....

told lydia i will use
a Mac at work
she offered crash course
next weekend at her house
ON LA!

i will also need
to polish up my powerpoint skill
actually have long gone
forgotten how to use

baked 5th aunty a pandan cake
she liked it the last time
but her daughter greentea
only gave a small bite
and finished up the rest
all by herself!
and mind you
greentea alone finished
5 pcs of the cake!

again the ever 'sensitive' chiffon cake
didnt turn out a beaut today (wats new?)
the top cracked again
this time like EARTHQUAKE! very bad
i had already reduced
the baking temp by 10 degree
sigh! i guessed will need
experience and practice
to perfect it

hmmm... wonder wat's greentea up to?
she havent been blogging since Monday
must be really busy with school work
and extra CCA - park tor! **LOL**
never mind
see you tmrw la!

day FOUR, YEEESSSSSS!

2008-06-26T18:18:00.007+08:00

lunch today: deep fried silver fish

me & bao: the colour, FAILED! **we laughed**

true enough its HORRIBLE!

the prawn paste wings saved our day!

AMK mrt station

can you imagined the frus!
i accidentally deleted
all my blog for today!
BL***DY H**L !

now i have to start all over again!
ARRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..........
**pull hair**

10.54am my mobile range
6420**** appeared on my screen
my heart went
thud-thud, thud-thud......

took a deep breath : hello?
yes Jack's jovial voice
came from the other end
he asked: have you already found a job?
me: no, not yet
he asked, are you still interested in the
Brand Assurance job?
me: Yes
at this point
i knew i got the job!

but i didnt expect more to come
he is offering me the position
of a Manager and not a Rep post
which i initially was told
he said the Manager post is offered
to me to do me 'justice'
given my experience and maturity
he asked if the salary offered was ok too
YES YES YES i said
no need for me to bargain
he has done
more than 'justice' to me
so next tuesday
i start work

went out after the call
to meet Bao for lunch
at AMK HUB (my first time there)

12.17pm Bao sms me
she passed her final theory test
12.26pm cousin gillian sms me
she passed her driving test!
WOW! TRIPLE HAPPINESS TODAY!
must buy TOTO
HUAT AH!

took a train from cck to amk
the long journey gave me time
to digest Jack's call this morning
the more i think about it
i more i felt the Manager post
is too big a hat for me to wear
at this point of time
(though Indra kept assuring me
i am up to the position
she is always so full of faith in me)
**thanks**

i have been out of touch
with Brand Assurance and
i have not worked
outside my own company
for the last 5 years or so
i will need time
to adjust and tune myself
to fit into a
whole new work environment

i know myself very well
if i know i am not
going to do a good job
i would rather reject
and start low
i will learn through
the process until i am ready
or the company sees
for themself that
i can take on a higher level
for now if feel
the manager position can wait

met Bao and we walked
to the Hub for our
bi-monthly fix
of yaks and gossips
**hahahaha**

told her about my new job worries
she understands me
know that i am
not out to deceive anyone
i just want to be fair
to both parties

so i called Jack back
explained my reasons
for turning down
the good offer
i asked if he can offer me
Brand Assurance Administrator instead
and i gave him
a fair salary expectation
he said he would discuss with Indra

you may say i am stupid
for turning down
such a good opportunity
i will consider myself silly
if i take up the offer
but i will not be happy
i'd rather be happy
with what i am doing
then go for something
that i am not ready

thanks Indra and Jack
for having the faith
and confidence in me

so the wait continues
day FIVE, tomorrow

day THREE, 2 more days to go...

2008-06-25T16:52:00.005+08:00

secret weapon #1 : mix egg whites to stiff peak

secret weapon #2 : fresh orange & lemon juices + zest

this time, its really soft!

has it ever happened to you
that when you are most 'broke'
you suddenly like have
so many bills to pay
and mind you they are not
shopping bills

and this scares me
cos it made me
start to think
when i am old with
no savings or
no retirement plans
how am i to cope
with all these!
**scared with cold sweat**

saving money is a virtue
that is if you have
extra money to keep
my present scenerio
is very 'dangerous'
so to speak
as i flipped through
the classified ads
little did i realise
until then that all
i have with me is only
years of working experience
but no skill
my job options are
none other than
administrative positions
(with NO accounts knowledge required)

my advantages are i am
very self motivated,
meticulous, independent,
competent, competitive,
great interpersonal skills,
and rather 'kia-su' :"P
yar, say until ownself so good
but still got job limitations
**haiz**

tmrw meeting Bao
my ex staff now turned friend
at amk hub in the morning
she is taking a day off tmrw
to take her final theory exams
so we are meeting up
to catch up with
non other than 'gossips'

i just baked her
an orange chiffon cake
this time following
the exact recipe
no more my own 'invention' (LOL)
the cakes are now cooling off
and by far they looked perfect
in shape and 'taste'

taste verdict: the best so far! and SO SOFT

shifu, 我成功了!

**clapclapclap**

till tmrw, day FOUR
its time for ‘美人鱼'
aka ‘同心圆' on ch 8 again

day TWO, oreo muffins for consolation

2008-06-24T15:09:00.007+08:00

the secret weapon #1

the secret weapon #2

the oreo muffin batter

ready for the oven

ta-da!

day TWO, nothing happened
decided to console myself
by trying to bake the oreo muffins
didn't feel like
cleaning up the kitchen today
so opted for this easy
no need electric mixer
oreo muffins to bake

i must say this is
the simplest and
cleanest baking so far
i needed yoghurt
as one of KEY ingredients
and of course Oreo cookies
the confusion however was
did the recipe ask for
plain oreo cookies (got such things?)
or oreo cookies n' cream

Yoghurt was easy to get
but can't find any
plain oreo cookies
so heck la,
cookies n cream then

mixing the ingredients
was a breeze
becos it is important
NOT TO over mix, stir or beat the batter

no need electric mixer
or whisk
just a fork and
an ice cream scoop will be handy

comes the oreo part :
to add in the white cream
or just the cookies
after not much struggle
decided no white cream
cos me don't have
sweet tooth
but my hubby do
but i guessed he can
always spread jams
over his muffins
or for me
i can always spread
with butter
or dip into my cuppa

the new muffin paper cups
and 12 pack tin cups
bought at phoon huat yesterday
were put to test
the baked muffins
turned out in good shape
and nicely browned at the top
however i need to bake
for 35-40 mins in my small oven
instead of 20-25 mins

presentation:
passed
texture:
passed
taste verdict:
not sweet ley
confusion:
so is it must add the cookies' cream too??

think i will write to the
author for this recipe
to 'investigate'
will let you all know soon

sigh! now have to think
what to eat for dinner
everyday is a chore
to think of what to eat
chin-chye la
think will just cook
tom-yam soup with rice
and settle that
for today

time to watch
my re-run of ‘美人鱼’now on ch 8
i mean, ‘同心园’
pierre pang did a good job
in playing da yang
傻得可爱

till then
to day THREE tomorrow :"P

day ONE, no good news

2008-06-23T16:40:00.008+08:00

day ONE
NO good news today
friends who know me
knows wat i am referring to

today is yet another
same old gloomy weather day
if i dont get out
i will end up rotting at home
and you will probably
be reading an exact same copy
of last nite's blog
as today's entry
cos same weather same mood

sms-ed lydia to tell her
will meet her for lunch
at her office at aljunied
she ewplied ok even though
amidst her busy work schedules
for this week
thanks old pal!

so i made my way to aljunied
first by lrt to bk panjang bus interchange
to take bus 700 to whitley rd
from whitely i will take bus 154 to machperson rd
from macpherson rd i will take bus 100 to aljunied rd
all these take me less then an hour to complete
take mrt la, you all must be saying
but i love bus rides on top
of all the public transports here
cos i like to look at the sceneries
while i am commuting

holland, the cat mascot
didnt receive me at the office today
lydia said she was sleeping
in ah lim's workshop behind
so i went in to 'disturb' the diva
she was half asleep when i saw her
but she woke up half sleepy eyes
to accept my 'sayang-ing' and stroking
her ball of tail is active today
hitting my palm with it even while
she was snoozing away

ah lim was busy a usual
repairing a piece of musical instrument
long enough to look like a rifle
i think its a long trumpet
(ah lim correct me if i am wrong, sorry ah :"P)

lunch time at a revamp hawker centre
the afternoon breeze coming through
was a challenge for us all
holding on to our hair, bags and cutlery (LOL)
ah lim suggested the black pepper chicken chop
so good that i forgot to take a snap (smack head)
the kopi-c siew tai was just as GOOD!

heh heh heh best part of today
phoon huat made my day!
there is a big outlet
just across from lydia's office
at sim's lane
luckily this one is not at holland v
otherwise i 'pok gai' to the brim

bought some 1000 pcs of paper cups for muffins
YA 1000 pcs for only $6.10
so gave half to lydia
also bought the cheese cream
at buy 2 get 1 free (1 for $2.30)
and gave the free one to lydia too
good things must share
hahahha...she my shi-fu mah! :")

reached home around 4 pm
nothing much to do at home
no baking no cooking
and dad made my day
by calling to say
the choco swirl cheesecake turned brownies
taste good!
i should make him
the real brownies this Sat, maybe

actually the bus ride today
made me think
of my late 阿公
thought of blogging
my fond memories of him
but decided not to
cos it will dampened me surely
cos i still miss him though
he was gone for more than 10 years
another day maybe
when i get hold of
some of his photos from mum
happy photos with
happy memories
of him and us
all the grandchildren

till then the wait continues
day TWO tomorrow

gloomy weather moody me

2008-06-22T21:30:00.012+08:00

started to rain
early this morning
hubby sam has to work today
so reluctantly
he crawled out of bed
its sunday
a day to sleep in late
but not today for him

i got up a little later
attacked by hunger pang
but so lazy to walk out
in the rain for breakfast
so i settled down with
mum's fried noodles
packed home from last nite
so guilty cos the noodles'
rather oily
so no coffee for me
just tea

i watched the re-run of
japanese version 花样少男少女
i think the japanese
actors and actresses
are really cute
in both outlook and acting
loved the white face
golden retriever Yujiro too
i think i preferred the
japanese version more
compared to the taiwan's

cousin gillian wanted
the recipe to make
cream sauce/white sauce
so i dug out another one of
my 'antique' recipe book
100 great recipes pasta
YES 100 recipes!
and found what she wanted
its simple to make
i think she managed

2.30pm i decided to
walk to fajar
to eat a proper lunch
and to grab some food
for dinner
ended up eating chicken rice
(guilty*guilty*)
cos i cant resist the smell
but i had chicken breast meat
so not so bad la
(**guilty**reduced by 1 degree)

ended up buying can food
to stock up at home
don't know why
but i think today
is just one of those days
that i have no inspirations
to cook

came back and started
browsing through
yesterday's Straits Times Recuitment ads
and searching the nets
for job opportunities
gotta plan ahead
in case i dont hear from
*TV by end next week
sigh!

its not a good feeling
staying home for
the last 3 months
though i said i wanted
to take a break
but 3 months to me
seriously
is too long
for one i am getting bored
for two it's not healthy to the pockets
for three am afraid 'my engine' cannot start
if a job comes along (getting too slack lah!)

really lousy mood today
think 'big aunty' coming
so am feeling edgy
ache-ky all over
and damned sleepy too

told hubby to settle
his own dinner
and all i had for dinner
was a can of minestone soup
with garlic breads
part guilty for the oily breakfast & lunch
but mainly not much appetite

minestrone soup & garlic breads

hopefully tomorrow
i will wake up
to a beautiful day
and better mood
the wait for the
'good news' starts tomorrow

我没把得失看得太重
所以即使失败
我也能欣然接受

never go against the "recipes"

2008-06-21T18:05:00.005+08:00

cake mixture turned out too watery

fresh out from the oven

nice golden colour

today i decided
to bake the orange chiffon cake
lydia has give me
the ACTUAL recipe for this cake

thinking i had all
that were needed
i didnt do any marketing
this morning

and as i was laying
out all the ingredients
then i realised
i didn't have
the MOST VITAL ingredients:
orange juice, lemon juice
orange zest, lemon zest

think i didn't 'study'
the recipe in depth
must have thought
pandan chiffon cake
and orange chiffon cake
can't be THAT FAR OFF
the most is to change
the pandan paste to
orange paste lo
Ya, SO i thought

little did i realise
the orange chiffon cake recipe
is SUCH A FAR CRY from
the PANDAN chiffon cake! :"(

so the 'never say die' me
very 'cleverly' improvised
my own recipe by
baking orange chiffon cake
using pandan chiffon cake recipe!
thinking all i need
to do is change
the flavour paste only

the only thing i see not right
is the defrost
coconut milk
it has became
2 separate bodies:
fine grated coconut-like
floating in oily water-like base
it longer looked like
white opaque liquid
but i still went ahead to use
cos it has not gone bad

however it has made
the whole cake mixture
rather watery
and my heart turned'cold'
i think there is
a problem here

so i popped in
the 2 cake to bake
one MAMA, one BABY
ya i bought another
super mini mould
so cute!

anyway i waited anxiously
the cake didnt rise
as it should
but all else looked ok

taste verdict:
the orange flavour
is not obvious
but the coconut taste is
the cake felt moist
but is dry
even my mum commented
its wet and dry

so i sms-ed lydia
to tell her the verdict
she laughed and replied
she: OOps...next round you follow the recipe exactly
me: ya, so proven cannot anyhow use pandan cake recipe to bake orange cake :"P
she: told you so! i give you full marks for bravery thou!

hee, ok next week i follow
also i target to
bake the choco swirl cheesecake again!

DISASTROUS, is the word

2008-06-20T15:46:00.009+08:00

this step is correct: choco & cheese mix

disaster: mess plus messed up ingredient
**sob**sob**

final product - FAILED

still failed!

make over, YEAH!

dear cousin greentea,

today i set hand to try
bake the choco swirl cheesecake
thinking it should be
a piece of cake!

boy, was i being deceived!

all when well
during the ingredients mixing
all went wrong
during the pouring
of the choco
and the cheese mixtures
into the baking tins

firstly, the choco
and cheese mixtures
were rather liquid-like
secondly, my baking tin
was too small to start with

this cake required me
to layer the choco mix first,
then the cheese mix,
and finished off the top
layer with the remaining
choco mix
sounds easy?
YES it is
BUT NOT when you are
half way through pouring
the cheese mix then
you realised
your baking tin
IS TOO SMALL!

so the transfer process starts...
into another bigger tray

**PISSED**

COMING UP....
disaster #2

i popped the cake
into the oven
150 degree for 50 mins

and just 5 mins passed
MY GOD!
the cake mix started
overflowing from the tin

**SHIT**SHIT**SHIT**

quickly i took
the cake out
at this point
i knew
this cake is deemed
a FAILURE
not that it has overflowed
but wat i was about to do to it

so the mess starts here
frantically
i started scooping
out some of the mix
into 2 other small foil trays

the scooping out process
has mixed up
both the choco and cheese
they no longer
are in layer

the scooping process
also dripped the mix
all over the worktop
and the floor

**MORE PISSED**

i really can't bear
to see the result
cos i know
i have messed up
the baking procedures

**SOB**SOB**

4.10pm the first tray
has come out of the oven
its not a sight
like i said
the layers been messed up
all i see was
more choco
and little traces
of the cream cheese mix

i will know the taste
when the cake
has cooled down
just popped in
the other balance
2 foil trays into the oven
nothing to look forward to
i must say
except for the taste

5.12pm taste verdict:
the taste is good
though not much
cheese flavour
must be the mixed up
thats why the choco taste
has overpowered the cheese
the cake turned out
moist (thank god)
but failed in the outlook

so i decided to do
a make over
to the unsightly outlook
by cutting them into squares
and then individually
wrapped in foil

so now its both
presentable and tasty
i am happy
and i think the cake
is happy too! :"P

am giving away
a tray to my Taiwanese neighbour
and the other tray
to you, cousin greentea tmrw
together with the cds
and cookery books.

shopping at Ikea

2008-06-18T16:53:00.016+08:00

lunch at ikea: poach salmon & wings

baking bowls from ikea

went to ikea at alexandra
to look for my baking bowls
lydia told me they may have
what i needed

weather's gloomy
and i am hungry
have saved my lunch
to eat at ikea

bus 961 from bukit panjang
is super crowded
and noisy
kids playing
women yakking
on their cell phones
indian mum & daughter
arguing in their lingo
and a weird uncle
blasting his small radio

glad that it was a smooth ride
can't wait to get off
i made it to ikea
before the rain

headed for ikea restaurant
alamak!
it's lunch time again
the crowd and the queue
never mind
i tahan first
so i started my shopping

found the oven safe
baking bowls
for my baked or gratin recipes
hubby will be happy
becos he loves gratin food

the bowls are rather affordable
to my surprise
those i bought were
rather lowly priced
from $3.90 to $5.90
thanks lydia
for the good lobang

its pouring
cats and dogs
headed to the restaurant
to try my luck again
2nd time lucky
the restaurant
is rather empty

i zeroed in

to have the poach salmon
with my wings of course
and not forgetting
my FREE coffee
on the way

finishing the poach salmon
is a victory
but looking at the wings
i surrender
cos the potatoes
have filled my stomach
to the brim

so i packed the wings home
possible for my dinner
hmmm...
time to think
wat's for dinner

no baking adventure today
cos its a wet day
making my way home
i got wet along the way

glad that i didn't
over buy today
only bought
what i went there for

tonite maybe
i will try to bake
penne of bacon in cream sauce
ok, that's set
shall be my dinner
for the night

**UPDATES**
dinner was changed
to baked rice
with breaded scallops
discovered there are
leftover rice in the fridge
so decided to change menu

i first fried the rice
with butter, garlic
onions, corns
mushrooms, bell pepper
& scrambled eggs
seasoned with salt
pepper & mixed italian herbs

My Recipe:
the fried rice is then
filled into my new
ikea oven bowls (hee!)
topped with defrost breaded scallops
& grated chedar cheese

oven baked at 180 degree
for 20 mins
*ting* goes the timer
rice is ready
to be served

if you are a lover
for cheese
you can add more
otherwise
go slow on the
grated cheese
or else very 'jelat' la

Super 'Bo Liao' today

2008-06-17T15:20:00.005+08:00

my next projects: chocolate swirl cheesecake and brownies

photos courtesy from: http://amandalwh.wordpress.com/category/recipes/cakes/

super bo-liao day
super 'withdrawal symptom' day
cos NO baking today :"(

spent time surfing
for my next baking targets
this website above
is very interesting
great sites for
amateur self-taught
(ahem) baker like me
**puke

shared the recipes
with shifu lydia
and some 'discussions' later
maybe tmrw will try
either one above
am a fan of cheesecake & brownies
i think
my cousin greentea
will LOVE them too

hubby just sms-ed me
'wat you baking today'
aiyo, stressed ah
told him not today
becos our fridge
has no more space
hahahaha......

meeting my ex-staff
now friend, Bao
next thursday
at amk hub
after her 2nd
final theory papers

maybe i will
bake her a
pandan chiffon cake
or orange cake
since she 'ANTI - butter'
and 'ANTI-cheese' cakes

received some
positive news about
my long-awaited job
verdict will be out
end june

meanwhile
will make full use
of my remaining holidays
baking all i want
before the work maddness starts
in july
***cross my fingers, cross my toes***

Corn Muffins, SUCCESSFUL!

2008-06-16T21:53:00.006+08:00

only got down to baking
at almost 4pm
delayed by housework
and researching
the net for conversion chart
for cups measurement to gram

finally found it
had a brief discussion
on msn with shi fu Lydia
the do's & dont's
lets get the baking going!

helpful link:
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cup-to-Gram-Conversions/Detail.aspx

with some baking experiences
from last 2 weeks
this time am more confidence
from measuring to cream-ing
from mixing to folding
all is a breeze

the recipe i had
is for 12 holes muffin tray
but i didnt have that
due to high cost
instead i use tall
muffin paper cups
100 pcs for $3.56
while a 6 holes muffin tray
cost $8.00+

the muffin paper cups
are rather deep
so only managed
to fill 7 muffin cups
which is good enough
for my small oven

waiting for the
moment of truth
filled with anxiety
so kept myself occupied
by washing the utensils

at 200 degree
after 25 mins
time to check
in goes my
stainless steel
cake tester
and out comes nothing
YES!
the muffins are baked

now for the moment of truth
left the muffins
on the cooling rack
they looked good
and are in shaped
its the taste
that matters now

one is 'dissected'
to see if the inside
is accepted
i am a genius! :"p
well baked...
quickly sms-ed shi fu
to tell her the good news
congrats!
she said

lucky hubby
this will be
his supper for tonight

Lets go Phoon Huat!

2008-06-15T21:44:00.016+08:00

another dunno-wat-to-do sunday
sian ah!
weather is so humid

not a good idea to stay home

me asked hubby: want to go holland v?

hubby: for wat?

me: hmmm.....dunno know

hubby: ah then?
me: just dont want to stay at home
me: we go phoon huat la

hubby: but i dun know your friend

me: si mi friend?

hubby: phoon huat sian?

me: ai yo! no la, is a shop selling baking stuffs la!

hubby: oh, ok lor

so we went phoon huat
at chip bee gardens

off holland village

amidst the hot weather

chip bee gardens

wah! soy 'high crass'

all italian restaurants

& bakeries lined the walkway

i scratched my head

phoon huat is so 'local'
sure they are here or not?

anyway we walked through block 43

no phoon huat in sight

wah lau, must walk some more

and uphill ley

the more we walked

the more we got hungry

watching all the ang mos

& 'crass' chinese lunching

***swallow saliver***

ah!! phoon huat is in front

i pointed excitedly

to my sweat drenched hubby

who is as excited

because finally

air con is just ahead! :"P

i tell you

i must admit

i GO CRAZY

in phoon huat

so many baking utensils
SO CHEAP!

so many baking ingredients

SO BL**DY CHEAP!
cham liao, cham liao

flour and icing sugar

flavouring essences

yellow cornmeal (for my kenny roger's corn muffins)

cheese cream (for my oreo cheesecake)

muffin paper cups

lemon juice

garlic/ginger crusher

etc..etc..

just to name A FEW
cheap! cheap! cheap!

so armed with my recipes

i started loading

the shopping basket
like there is

NO tomorrow :"D

cash register rings

total about $50

hmmm......

not bad

for so many things bought

happy with

all that i bought

confidence level rised

tmrw's corn muffins

NO problem at all! :"P

Ka-la, OK!

2008-06-14T14:22:00.017+08:00

woke up to a rainy morning
YAWN!
not a good day to go out
but its KA-LA-OK day
so must make the best
out of the day

quickly i got up
to get dressed
cos meeting cousin greentea
for lunch at clementi

weather turned for the best
we had a quick & hot lunch
and complained regretting
coming in long pants :"(

we had some time to spare
so to Big Bookshop we went
cooking and baking books
were our target
cos cousin greentea
is only keen on that :"P

i ended up buying
baking book for muffins
cos my hubby Sam
has a love for them

2 pm we start ka-la-ok-ing
from ah yue to ah mei
jay to 'ko-lay'**
kenji to tank
and 黄安 to 侧田

3 pm cousin qi-lian came
and sisters cat fight began
of all thing
over A MIC!
hallo girls!
there are 2 mics la
why fight??!!

with that settled (chuan ah!)
the REAL ka-la-ok began
from t-pain to westlife
from aaron kwok
to power houses
like 苏永康 and 动力火车

we have many finale songs
from backstreet boys
to 草蜢
but today they are not
cos our love for him was rekindled today
after we saw his 分享爱 'live' concert
aaron kwok our 永远的帅天王！

so amidst frozen fingers & toes
we ended our session at 7pm
hungry as we were
headed for the hawker centre
for my fish soup
and the girls bee hoon
& bak chor mee

today was really enjoyable
great to catch up
& have fun with the girls.

songs i enjoyed today:
t-pain : the low low low low low song (sorry, dun know title)
aaron kwok : para para sakura, 分享爱(is it huh?)

苏永康 : 追许志安，男人不该让女人流泪
动力火车：那就这样吧，无情的情书
tank : 非你莫属
张震岳：爱的初体验
吴克群 kenji: 为你写诗
jay: 简单爱

**note to cousin greentea & qi-lian
feel free to fill in the song lists
i can't remember that many

btw, you are supposed to
send me the 'low low low' song
where ah?

Sunny Thursday

2008-06-12T14:35:00.011+08:00

wat happened to wednesday?
heheheh..

lazy to blog yesterday

cos finished baking late

this time is chicken pie

not a cake

my ex-colleague stacy from WBCP

was msn-ing with me

said she missed my chicken pie

so i dedicated this one

i baked yesterday to she

stacy, this one is for you :")

baking chicken pie

is not the first time
has been baking since
before my tefal oven
said 'bye, bye' :"P

tmrw going karaoke

with cousins from clementi

hahaha....

they are qilian & greentea

so i am baking them

a pandan cake today

for tmrw's karaoke

yar we all know

outside food not allowed

but who cares

as long as we eat

secretly 'in the dark'

hahahahahahah...

its 3.11 pm

and my coconut milk

is still in defrosting stage

how long more to wait

i am like, nodding my head

ZZZZzzzzzzzzz......

even my chicken wings

have defrosted

and being marinated

now in the fridge

ready to be roasted

3.16 pm i am stopping

this blog for a while

will continue later

after tea break

or when the pandan cake

is baked

8.56pm blogging continues

sigh!

the pandan cake turned out

isnt much a sight

cos during the preparations

things didnt go that right

shifu said chiffon cake

very 'sensitive'

u may bake it well tonight

but another day

it may not rise or

even turn out nice

i must admit

it may not be a looker today

but it is certainly up to taste

dear cousins, this pandan chiffon cake is for you

it may looked ugly, but it still taste good :"P

my marinated soy wings

i haven't forget:

into the oven it baked

ask me for the recipe**

if you want to try one day

luckily tonight's dinner

saved the day

rice, wings & soup

lets call it a day!

**receipe for soy sauce wings:

marinate with:

light sauce
dark sauce
pinch of salt
sesame oil
shaoxing wine
little cornflour
ginger
garlic

mixed above marinate well with the wings
cling wrap & keep in frigde for an hour or more
oven heat to 180 degree
bake for 40 mins

Lazy Tuesday

2008-06-10T16:54:00.005+08:00

managed to sleep last nite
not in the wee hours
must be tired from the baking
all the cut & fold

shoulders aching
must be from the baking
all the cut & fold
hahahaha..........

thought of baking
chicken pie today
this i dun need recipe
cos its all in my head

there is no puff pastry
in shop n save
alamak!
to make the puff
will take me half a day

so plan abandoned
but some ingredients
still bought
tmrw shall go NTUC
to buy the balance lot

came home bored
baking utensils alot
but no space to store
so clean up the kitchen
threw away many
plastic bots
ahhhh.....
now got plenty space to store
the baking utensils i bought

cousin ah wen
failed his driving test today
he is disappointed
but ready to take on again

he apologised for breaking
the 'ang teh kor' tradition
i want to tell him its ok
he will be thankful to it
on his next test date

had a msn chat with cousin greentea
about her new relationship
words of advice
is all i can give
the rest is up to she
she will always be
the 'baby' in our family
and we only want the BEST
for greentea

**today no photo to share**

Monday - Baking Day!

2008-06-09T21:37:00.013+08:00

Monday, Yeah!

pandan cake day
been looking forward

to this day since sunday

didnt wake up early

again, sleepless nite

and all nite blogging

today is a fine day

best for laundry day

so lets get going

no more slacking

went to bangkit

to do some errands

and to pick up

baking ingredients

only started baking

in the late afternoon

so much housework to do

need to set up the new oven
that i bought 1 year back
using for the first time
hopefully will bring me luck

first i must study the recipe

a modified copy

but sorry so messy

only i know how to read :"P

wah!
there are bowl A
to bowl D
with different ingredients
to add in
confusion.com is me
so i labelled the bowls
from letters A to D

so many ingredients there are

cream of tartar

is not tartar sauce

cos that's what i thot :"P

coconut milk

is not coconut cream

we needed it watery

not creamy

pandan paste

is not pandan essence

though they both looked green

and the same

so many steps to remember
from whisk to mix

and methods to know

to cut & to fold

all these i tried to follow

i must admit

i try not to be slow

but reading my messy recipe

hahaha even i

cannot follow

finally

all is ready to roll

in goes the mix & mould

now we wait

to see how it goes

20 mins is set

temperature at 180 max

cross my fingers

hopefully my cake will set

hmmmm........

the pandan fragrance

is in the air

at least the smell is correct

out comes the pandan cake

all rised and in shape

it looked ok

hopefully also taste ok

i gave myself 80 marks today

becos i succeeded in the taste

minus 20 goes to the time control

becos the cake was a little wet

near the centre mould

shifu lydia said

way to go

she thinks i achieved my goal
for a first timer

she said practiced more

you have a long way to go

to my cousin greentea

i hope one day

you can bake this

but meanwhile

you can eat this

About Sunday.....

2008-06-09T20:22:00.006+08:00

Sunday

i know i know

today is not Sunday

and i should be blogging

about Monday

which is today

sorry all

becos of some technical faults

to my lappy

on saturday

i had to stay up till 3

on sunday

to blog only for

saturday's entry

sunday morning:

change in plan

becos have to send my lappy

to andy

i cant join the gang for the lunchie

already i was overloaded

with the photos

and now the lappy

i felt that i am carrying

a luggage of 10 k.g.

hubby gave me money to take taxi

but damn!

bukit panjang so hard

to find taxis

end up have to lug my 'luggage'

take the LRT

ended up taking a bus

looked like its going to rain

heng ah!

and i reached before

i can even smell the rain :")

technical fault is fixed

lappy is working

i am happy

becos andy is sending me

to my gathering place

otherwise

i sure faint

thomas & wendy

lydia & ah lim

*holland & me

we had coffee

over photos &

gossips (did we?? :"P)

we stayed till evening

time for dinner

where to eat

by bus we went anchorpoint

to eat tom yam

sphagetti &

hor fun beef

by bus we returned to Depot

to collect our stuffs

& head home

me waited for taxi

with lydia in tow

becos my 'luggages'

are so bulky

i can hardly see my toes

thanks lydia
for the baking book
& baking stuff

and thanks wendy
for the korean wipes
from sasa

My Saturday

2008-06-07T21:03:00.008+08:00

woken by the smell of food
and the noise of pots

void deck wedding...MUST BE la!

if i am not wrong

i have nothing against this

just am used to

being woken by

the smell of fried chicken and curry

but not today

it smelled funny

like 'smelly tofu'

eeewwww.........

anyway dragged myself

out of bed

another gloomy day

with rain on its way

sigh!

not a day for laundry again

gotta leave early for mum's place

today's bak chang day

brought my lappy along
hoping to blog some more

mum's bak changs are small

so she made more

good for giveaways

and nice for tea break

eat alot more

your stomach also wont break ^O^

little cousin greentea

told me she is keen

to learn how to cook and bake

ahhhh......

the power of love

has changed this babe :"D

she fell in love with oldies

love songs even older than she

ahhhh.....

the power of love

has added 10 years to she :"P

cousin ah wen (greentea's bro)

is taking his first

practical driving test

"ang teh kor" i told him to wear

to bring him luck during the test

told him next tuesday 'ai steady'

but driving 'mai poon pi pi' :"P

this friday have a date

to go karaoke

greentea's on school break

ah lian's on half day

kbox here we come

周杰伦站一旁!

:")

No Baking Today

2008-06-06T14:42:00.010+08:00

woke up with a sore throat today
from eating the cake i baked
only had 2 slices
but was bad enough
something must has gone wrong
so into the trash goes the cake
sorry!!!! :"(

intended to try again today
using the traditional steaming method
but the more i think of it
the more i dont think it will work
cos logically speaking
i dont see the logic in it :"D
you is the know
what i is talking about? :"P

better do some 'homework' first
i will make it up next week
time to bring out my brand new oven
still tuck away in my storesince i bought it last year

have been surfing the net today
trying to get some baking tips
and recipes

'shi fu' said i should start with citrus chiffon
(for a beginner)
instead of pandan chiffon
though i like the latter more

discovered 2 interesting
though not so idiot proof recipes
(oops! sorry 'shi fu', i will search for citrus chiffon too :"P)

here are the links:
http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/03/pandan-chiffon-cake.html
http://wokkingmum.blogspot.com/2008/02/pandan-chiffon-cake.html

going for my taiwan trip kakis gathering this sunday
for lunch and photo sharing
'shi fu' has bought some baking utensils
and baking ingredients for me

the ambigious me shall try
again to attempt baking
this time with a baking oven
no more Rice Cooker
chey!

hopefully first time lucky!
('shi fu' said)
she said its not easy
baking a chiffon
she is still fine tuning
to perfection

to my greentea cousin:
sorry,
no baking experience to share today
as promised

next week
hopefully,
can share my chiffon cake online
good luck to me!

but for tonight's dinner
i am contented with
my homemade mee hoon kuay
lets get the dough rolling!

Rice Cooker Baking

2008-06-05T15:40:00.012+08:00

so is it possible?

it says in the book, it is possible

seemed idiot proof to me

loaned from mum her antique mixer last week

but the mixer bowl dont seemed to turn when switch on

she said need to put in all ingredients

and with the weight, it WILL turned

ya ok, i said, but half believing her

my second doubt is my rice cooker

its a 2 buttons rice cooker :

"COOK" & "KEEP WARM"

completely idiot proof

can it really bake a cake?
what if the "COOK" jumped to "KEEP WARM"

before the cake is baked?

how ah?

with these doubts

i still went ahead to buy the ingredients

hoping to prove the author right or WRONG?!

Bloody H***, baking ingredients are so EXPENSIVE!

so i sms my baking 'shi-fu' lydia to complain

and her reply: Now you know

:"(

back in my kitchen

i 'styled' the baking utensils & ingredients

for a photo session

hmmm....

looking good

now for the REAL test

i burnt the first 30g of butter

yes, BURNT!

yellow butter becomes brown and grainy

it doesnt smell burnt

but it looked burnt

ok re-do, no sweat

after tips from my 'shi-fu'

ahhh....

melted butter should look golden & liquified

successful :"D

next is to put the antique mixer to the test

ingredients were poured into the mixer bowl

power on

erhhh....

the mixer bowl doesn't turn

sigh!

manual lor

the mixer is now hand held

no need to turn the bowl in motion

but the mixer

i need to move it around the bowl

thanks so much

for a fully automated device :"(

so all ingredients well mixed

sliced apples thrown in

smelling good

looking good

now reality test for the rice cooker

mixed ingredients poured in

power on

"COOK" button on at 3.15 pm

ok, now we wait

while i cleaned up the kitchen

the "COOK" button jumped

HUH?!

its only 3.17pm!

SH**!

the rice cooker test FAILED!

alamak, how ah?

relac, relac

the book says if this happened

it means your rice cooker is not suitable

the only way to save the cake

is to manually pressed "COOK" again

everytime it jumped

until the cake is competely baked

and so i did for at least 5 times

until the cake is baked

hmmm.........

why so ugly and "bubbly" huh?

and its flat

i think i bake a pizza

not a cake ^o^

at least it didn't taste that bad afterall!

conclusion:

yes, rice cooker baking IS POSSIBLE

not unless you invest in one

with IH functions (whatever that is)

or with function modes for cooking time

my 'shi fu' suggested

maybe i can try steaming it

the traditional way

like what my grandma used to do

when she steamed huat kuay & yam cake

use big wok, add water & steam it

ok, round 2 tmrw

the traditional way

''Ah Ma por pee wa seng gong"

(grandma, blessed me success)

:"D

Friendship & Bak Chang

2008-06-04T17:30:00.017+08:00

nothing beats meeting up with a close friend, indra
she may not have the time to catch up regularly
but at least she remembers you when she is available
half an hour advanced notice was all i get from her
to meet up at our regular hair salon at Ngee Ann City

she is a very busy person
but at least she makes an effort
so there i was keeping her company
while she cuts her hair
and did her mani & pedicure

we did our regular gossips
amidst the noise of hair dryers
we could hardly hear each other
most of the time we 'HUH?" & "What did you say?"
but its ok, just being there is good enough

she brought a whole paperbag of bak chang
made by her mum, whom i dearly call "Aunty'
they are not any ordinary bak chang
but GIGANTIC bak chang
filled with Aunty's love :"D

good bak chang must share around
chris, jean, susan were given one each
indra ate one
and i brought home four
my meals for the next 2 days to come

she flies off to New York tmrw
back in 2 sundays time
lets catch up again
otherwise, see you in the office (hopefully!) ,

NO, they are not from THE COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF!

Sorry guys, NOT FOR SALE! :"D

Sunrise, sunset ...

2008-06-03T15:18:00.013+08:00

sometimes when i am not in a mood to write
i will choose to share my photos
the photos may mean my mood
or they may not mean anything

sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset
wake up, sleep, wake up, sleep
story of my life, for now
everyday hoping for a better sunrise
and a satisfying sunset

today i learned a new 'skill'
how to use rockyou.com
thanks to cousin greentea
see the photos i posted today
the result of learning

to my cousin greentea, an avid blogger
thanks for your patience
sorry to my cousin greentea,
for my non stop questions

see you this saturday
and dont forget our dumpling party
cant wait to eat them
yum yum

signing off,
a happier me :"P

Sleepless Nites

2008-06-02T18:44:00.005+08:00

yet another sleepless nite
havent been able to sleep well since i stopped working
some said its because of the change in lifestyle...
from working long hours to NO working hours :"P

i know i have worries
and its the cause to my many sleepless nites
only i know what i am worried about
now i am beginning to have doubts if i will get the job
lets just give it a week

because i am not well off
there are many i cannot obtained
even when i wanted to or there is a need to :
courses, curtains etc etc

many things i wanted to do
and have the time to do
but couldnt get down to doing
i think i am rotting away at home
i need to find back the zest in my life

when?
sigh!
meanwhile,
more sleepness nites.

Love is in the Air!

2008-06-01T14:17:00.005+08:00

01.06.2008 Here i go again...

so where did i stop the last time?

oh, so i have resigned from my heart & blood company.

and i have even gone to Taiwan and back.

indeed a short trip did me good both mentally & physically.

am ready for ROUND 2!

waiting for good news from the company that i went for an interview just this Wednesday.

this is one Company i have always wanted to work for :

loved the company's office cuture, dressing, nature of the business, and most of all, the job scope is something i am not UNfamiliar with.

(won't reveal the name just yet, only a handful of my close friends & family know)

cross my fingers & toes, they will call me back, hopefully!!!!!!!!!! :")

must have faith in myself.

wat will happen, will happened ! it's just a matter of time.

So, my little cousin 'addicted to green tea' who just turned 19, 6 days ago , HAS A BOYFRIEND! :"D

luckily she was not around when we found out last nite.

as it is without her around, we were 'teasing' her like mad, lead on by her mum & sis who enjoyed the teasing just as much.

FUNNNEEEEEE!!!

and littled cousin 'panicked' when i sms -ed her that we knew she has a BF.

she asked:

how many of you know about this?

i said:

you posted his pics on your blog & called him 'Darling' & 'Love',

so you tell me how many people know of his existence?!

she replied :

OMG!

so the baby of the family has grown up,

and i, have grown older *sob*sob*

Quote : words of encouragement from a very GOOD friend, Indra:

Every experience good or bad counts

It counts because it makes us a better and stronger person

What does not kill you make you stronger to tackle the next 50 years

Hello, its been a LOOOONNNGGG time....

2008-04-06T23:01:00.006+08:00

06/04, 2008 SUNDAY

Its been a Long time since i last entered an entry into my long forsaken blog.
Sorry to all whom i have neglected, whom i am promised my Taiwan 2007 trip diary.
Yes, it's still at Day 2 and i have forgotten all details to the trip since then.
I will leave it to the photos to speak the thousand words.

Many things have come & gone since then.
Things change, people change, hearts change, ideals change.
Some for the better, some change because circumstances asked for the change.

Its been almost 3 weeks since my drastic decision to go.
I am tired, really mentally & physically tired.
Fighting over work issues everyday is more drained then anything physical i can imagined.

It was painful to let go, but i have to
I cannot fight on for another 10 years
5 years is long enough, has lost enough
Cirumstances forced for the change, to change for the better
This time for myself, not anyone or anything else

Hopefully something good will come up for me
I am nurturing a plan
Hopefully it will

my baby: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lotsostufz_online_catalog/

DAY 2 - 23/06 KAOSHIUNG

2007-07-22T01:14:00.000+08:00

DAY 2 - KAOSHIUNG

Day 2 saw us up and early for breakfast at the hotel. Urhmmm....taiwan style porridge for breakfast, not really for me cos the condiments for the porridge are not very 'me'. So i just grabbed some toasted bread and coffee and hoped to find something else to munch along the way.

Our first stop was to the Kaoshiung Railway Station to buy train tickets for tomorrow's ride to Hualien and onwards to Taipei. The train (自强号) ticket costed us each: from Kaoshiung to Hualien was NT718 (abt Sin$33.55), and from Hualien to Taipei was NT445 (abt sin$20.79).

With that settled, we bought a separate train ticket (this time is their so called MRT ) at NT15 (abt $in$0.70) to Zoying 左营station for the start of our 'very hot' sight seeings...hahahahaha. The MRT carriage is very clean, very much like our MRT...so the short ride was comfortable and us behaving very much like tourists....hahahaha

Zoying 左营station is where we got off to go to 莲池潭our first place of interest to visit. At the station, we met a super friendly 'ticket conductor' who offered us directions to destination.

One look and he knew we were tourists. I asked him back for my train ticket stubs for momento purpose and he readily offered to stamp the stubs with the 左营 logo. HAHAHA, and not only that, he even offered to be our cameraman and took some pictures for us at the train platform. in the end, he also became a part of our photo. Thank you, sir!
The long walk to 莲池潭 was no joke at all under the SUPER HOT sun! Sweat,sweat,sweat and more Sweat! Not much scenery to see during the walk, unless you want to consider The Kaoshiung American School, a broken down army truck, a flat top tree, humongous water melons to be some 'views' to offer....NAH!

Finally upon reaching our destination, wah...got scenery to see liao....As the name mentioned : 莲池潭, is a natural lake and that once provided water for the nearby farms.
Around 莲池潭, we visited these places of interest:

春秋阁：民国42 年建造的中国宫殿式楼阁，是为了纪念武圣关公而建 but both pagoda tower were under major re-construction when we were there, so couldnt take shots of the interiors.
Well, can only refer to my travel guide for pictures, i guessed..Sigh!

OK, next : 五里亭：三层的亭阁 and linked to 春秋阁through a meandering bridge across the lake. Super windy here and Lydia's mum's hat actually flew off into the lake..alamak! bon voyage, hat! We didnt know that water in this lake is shallow cos until we saw white storks standing on the water only half submerged. At first we thought : 'WAH..the storks all got 轻功 is it? can stand on water some more...'

Hahahaha 'laughed die me' ....... 笑死我！

Temples are abundance in this area in all sizes, and this one is one of the most magnificent looking one, which is just across the street from 五里亭.

启明堂：三层大殿，每年农历4月14日开堂记念日和6 月24 日关帝诞辰时便有很多进香的人潮. As you can see from this photo, on a regular weekday,

it was hardly crowded.

As the sun rose higher over our heads at noon, the more 'dehydrated' we got...

And, as if our complaints were heard...*TINK TINK* a mobile dessert stall appeared before our eyes!!! YES! YES! YES!

Wah, shioker man....although ice kacang or chendol would be great!
Well, beggers cant be choosers at this point of ' life & death'... hahahaha....

While enjoying our 'cooling' effects, i noticed a fat cab driver hanging around very close to us...I knew he was waiting for our 'business' . Our initial plan was to go to 西子湾风景区 which was like a seaside kinda of thingy... But the dessert stall owner dissuaded us from going saying that place is passe liao..she suggested we go to DREAM MALL 梦时代 instead. According to her, it is the "IN' thing in Kaoshiung now.... Opened only in May this year, it is a mega mall that housed a ferris wheel on its roof top...Hmmmmm, this we gotta see since she said until 'got dragon got phoenix' - translate to hokkien dah!

So, the fat taxi driver got business liao...he even helped us 'radio' for another cab to send us all there..

So, this is the DREAM MALL, the so called most happening' mall in Kaoshiung now. My first feel for this mall, was that i thought i have came to Mid Valley Mall in KL..why huh? I guessed the similarity came from its vast surroundings and the size of the mall.

Hmmm...so where is the Ferris Wheel huh?

Waah....... the Ferris Wheel is hugh! And its on the roof top of the mall. Its like a FUN FAIR up there, with stalls selling food n stalls for games etc...

Oooooo! and the smell of the breaded deep fried hot dog coming from the stall next to me was IRRESSistable! Gotta have one....

Eeewww!Smelling it can be so deceiving, the hot dog tasted so-so only....luckily it wasnt expensive, and luckily i was really hungry from not much breakfast this morning.... OTHERWISE!

Hmmmm, inside the mall also so-so only, a mall is still a mall.. The only few shops that caught my eyes in there were: DAISO (yes, DAISO...we also have in S'pore, so wats so special about this one.....NOTHING lor, if u asked me but it seemed a rather popular shop here), BLUE STAR (fashion shop), DAVID'S (figurines shop), Adidas (Beckham was spread across the window display), the Cinemax (just because Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix's standee poster was simply awesome!), the book shop (cant remember the name of it) where i bought stationeries and a TVBS

magazine jus becos 星光帮的杨宗维和萧敬腾were on the magazine cover! Actually i liked Mr 萧 more...

**IMPORTANT: oh, hey WeeLin / Indra, am i infringing any copyright issue by publishing this HP photo here? You are the expert here, let me know ok? Heh heh, my 'source' have replied that it is ok....

We took a short break at a cafe on the basement of the mall to rest our tired feets and to sip tea and coffee and to 'relac' a little. We also tried the famous grilled pig's trotters (aka German style i think) from a push cart stall there...taste yummy but according to Lydia it's not the best compared to those she tasted when she last came to Taiwan. It's ok, i told her cos me not a fan of tee kar (pigs leg in hokkien, opps! sorry..pig's TROTTER)

Well its about time we head back to Kaoshiung Train station cos we have some more places yet to cover. We took the free bus service from outside the mall which will bring us straight there. Will walking the short distance to KS station, we popped in a CD shop to look-see look-see. But my look-see look-see ended up buying 张震岳's best collections and 苏打lyu (green) albums (not available in S'pore). Disappointed that they dont have TANK's latest album.

Our last destination to end the day is to 爱河 yah, its called LOVE RIVER in English...so corny hahahah...

Ay....no photo to see here cos so dark in the night, plus me no skill to shoot night scene. Basically, its a river (obviously!) that you can pay and take the river boat to tour around it. Its very much like our Clarke Quay/Boat Quay except, they have more to just pubs and eateries here. Along the river,you will see Kaoshiung Museum of History, The Music Centre, Kaoshiung City Film Library etc...you will experience all sorts of basking activities...classic example is a cross dressing fat guy in bustier dress, dancing to 蔡依琳的'舞娘'....GOSH, minus his look, his figure, his dress, he is pretty much a good dancer i must say. **APPLAUSE** for his courage!

Ok, with many stomachs chorusing a symphony of protests, we headed out to look for food! Ended up in a local eatery called 发呆or 阿呆 something。。。their homemade noodles were good, so were the condiments. Menu also very 'creatively' interesting...i posted the photos online at snapfish.com too.

After dinner, with still some energy left, we headed for our REALLY REALLY last place for the night..heheheh..seemed like there is no last place at all.....hahahahaha.....

光华夜市 was where we headed for at 三多二路。Pretty much the same as 六合夜市 we went last night, so i didnt really paid much attention to it. Plus so full from the dinner just now, food definitely is not my interest now. Until we spotted this cool blue VESPA....Chris Wee will like this, lets take a photo for him. Yeah!

Back at the hotel, started packing my luggage cos early tomorrow morning we will be taking the train and heading to HUALIEN. I am so bashed tonight...marathon walking, scorching sun, tired feet, smelly tee! Awwww....Eewww!

I have only 2 words for Kaoshiung's weather : I SURRENDER!

Note:

If you are interested to view my Taiwan Photos online, please leave me your email address in the Comments box and i will send you an invitation.

DAY 1 - 22/06 SINGAPORE TO KAOSHIUNG

2007-07-12T00:07:00.000+08:00

DAY 1 - 22/06 SINGAPORE TO KAOSHIUNG CI668
Holiday mood sets in slowly but surely on 22/06 as we took off from Singapore Changi International Airport, arriving in Kaoshiung about 4 hours later, at 6.40pm (no time difference between S'pore and Taiwan).

Kaoshiung International Airport Immigration/Custom is hassle free, queue free, crowd free, but most importantly, taxi abundance.

Together with our backpacks and luggages, the 6 of us jammed into 2 taxis and were zipped through the rather orderly evening traffic.

Along the way, we saw alot of warehouses and factories (many of which already abandoned). Our cab driver told us Kaoshiung was a bustling industrial city many years back.However,many have moved their production plants to China and thus causing the employment and economy rate to drop tremendously in Kaoshiung.

Our destination was Evergreen Green Hotel松柏大饭店, a rather decent hotel where we will stay for 2 nights, before adjourning to our next city : HUALIEN

After checking into our rooms, and freshening up ourselves, we set off by foot to the Liuhe Night Market 六合夜市in search mainly of food.

This night market is considered medium scale(by my standard), comprises of mainly mobile style food stalls, souvenir stalls, fashion wear & ware stalls, pet shops and many more that i cant list them one by one...

All in all, was eye opening to one who has heard so much but never experience 夜市. Local food and desserts are fantastic, especially their oyster omelette (though i still preferred our own S'pore's version of the 'o luar').

Silly me and Lydia, we went to order double egg omelette, thinking its more eggs ith oysters kind of 'o luar'. When the dish was served, we picked through the egg omelette, but no oyster lei??!! Then we realised : 双蛋煎 means just double egg with the starchy stuff, NO OYSTER! Alamak, so malu.....

**At this point, i need to remind all who have plans to travel to Taiwan to PLEASE bring your own plastic bags (as in like those NTUC plastic bags). Becos in Taiwan, you need to pay about Sin$0.20 for a plastic bag when you do your shopping at convenience stores, or even WATSON'S...so be sure to bring some with you at all times..

We didnt do much on our first night in Kaoshiung, pretty much 'shack' from the heat and the long walk....Weather's hot and stuffy at the night market, so drinking loads of water is a MUST!

We didnt do much on our first night in Kaoshiung, pretty much 'shack' from the heat and the long walk....

We all turned in rather early tonight, well not really....by the time i finished watching my 超级星光大道 (杨忠伟 & 林宥嘉 are about the only 2 who can sing really well) repeat on TV, it was almost 1 am.....

Well, it's about time to LIGHTS OUT, sleep tight, and get ready to gear up all the energy I have for another hot & sweaty day ahead tomorrow...and not forgetting, plenty of walking too....

SWEET DREAMS.....good night Kaoshiung

12/07/2007 hello i am back from Taiwan!

2007-07-11T23:46:00.000+08:00

12.07.2007, thursday 12.07 am

花莲的福寿山 - SEE TAIWAN AS YOU HAVE NEVER 'SCENE' BEFORE..

This photo on your left is NOT A POSTCARD! Now you know what i meant : 'TAIWAN AS YOU HAVE NEVER 'SCENE' BEFORE'...
我不要回来！

Its been 27 days to be exact since I last 'appear' in my blog on 14/06/2007...
I believed all you working class out there would agree with me, it was never easy to go on long leave without first having to clear all your work or handing over to a colleague who is covering your duties during your absence. No need for me to go into details.

Who says pre holiday mood is always good?? Not for me....
Sigh! The above summarised the story of my life from 15/06 - 21/06.

HOWEVER,from 22/06 onwards, ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! Hahaha, literally i mean, in a good way.
So, to make up for my absence from my blog for the last 17 days , let me take you through a day to day account of my holiday trip to Taiwan, feasting your eyes with some of the most magnificent scenes captured in my humble Canon Powershot A430, with my ‘有限公司’camera skill (pai say, pai say 献丑了）

I am also looking into my trip photos online (but dun know which to choose: flickr.com, snapfish.com or....)
anybody out there can suggest? but have to easy and quick to upload, best is no need to upload one by one...

All suggestions and ideas welcome!

back tracking to ...14/06/2007 Durian Chocolate??? YES! YES!

2007-07-11T23:36:00.001+08:00

11.07.2007, wednesday 11.44 pm

back tracking to

12.06.2007

昨天的情绪有点复杂。。。所以昨天没有一个明确的theme to write.
No entry yesterday, cos so bashed from work!

Today's mood is better. tHE DURIAN fillings dark chocolates were MARVDELICIOUS!!!! The durian filling and texture REALLY tasted like real durians! But too bad, these chocolates are bought in Malaysia. Will post an image of the box cover maybe in a few days time.

Been reminded many times today, only 8 more days to go before the much deserved holiday to TAIWAN.

Not bad, not bad, at least the holiday mood is beginning set in. ....**cham! so many things to do: air tickets still havent collected, money not exchanged to the NT currency yet, no track shoes yet, no backpack yet, NO SO MANY THINGS YET......Arrrrghhhhhhh!

怎么办，怎么办！！

Must take time off this Saturday to start planning and packing....
Working weekdays are absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to do much at nights...work work and more work......
And Sunday is pre-booked to attend a friend's new born ONE MONTH party at THE Anchorage. So like i said, all else that need to be done for the trip MUST at least be HALF done this Saturday........ARRRRGHHHHHHH! So little time for myself.......

WAHHH....its so late already, almost 1.30 am......and 张曼玉 is still on Channel News Asia Channel now being interviewed by Lisa Ang. She is still looking so GOOD!!!!! AWWWWWWWW...and that British twang in her tone when she speaks English. ..............SO SEXY!

Not much chinese texts being used today, cos too tired and lazy to 拼 every word...
GOOD NITE, MAGGIE.....It was good to see you again......

backtracking to 12/06/2007当猴子遇上乌龟

2007-07-08T18:37:00.000+08:00

08.07.2007, sunday 6.39 pm
back tracking to

12.06.2007

So可爱aaaiiiiii....可惜不是我

哎，注定的，是注定的

昨天的心情糟透了，今天早上又误了起床的时间。Stupid alarm clock, batteries went dead!

对一个急性子的猴子来说，迟到是件大事，sure to rush like mad...
But funny thing is, this morning 猴子变得不急躁了，猴子变成乌龟了。。。。
猴子 have come to realised that she is THE BOSS of her own company,
猴子 have come to terms that she is no longer an employee,
猴子 is THE BOSS, 猴子 is the 老板。。。。。。
猴子终于看开了！

Mojo 问: 哎，我什么时候便成了乌龟？？？？？

办公室里，当猴子遇上乌龟，我的妈呀！真的是equals to 火山爆发！从9.30 am 就已经开始工作的猴子，连早餐都来不及吃，就是work non stop....even **kopi gian also no time to make and drink....
当你ask, eat your breakfast already, 猴子只能回答：刚吞下去
是，是要以“ 吞“ 来形容，不是‘吃’。。。每天都是在忙碌的早上吞早餐, 灌咖啡 (excuse me hor, not **la kopi ok...leisure and pleasure is not found in my dictionary for most mornings at work)
Just dont understand how one can have no sense of urgency and 时间观念，and so oblivious of the morning rush hours work? And so shut out from the world around one.....

CAN one really live in one's own world? So cold... so 可悲.......四方框里难道不寂莫吗？

People go holiday to spend $$$ on shopping, 是明知之举。。。。。。
But others spend money before going for holidays!
huh? **si mi yi shi? (wat meaning?)
preparation to go for a holiday = spending money pre the trip
need to buy track shoes, backpacks, international power point plug, and all the **kee kee kok kok.... SIGH! still cannot find the ideal shoes and back pack, next week want to fly liao lei, 猴子又开始急了。。。。

Aaa, why not tonight eat sushi for dinner? Good idea, so sian from all the hawker foods nearby...yum yum,

猴子的心情开始有了转变。。。。。

我的台湾邻居刚过来给了我一盒为手信的durian chocolate from Malaysia. 赶紧拉住她问一下台湾哪里好玩。哇,so many places must visit woh, she said and wrote down a whole list of places for me. And then she came back again to give me a guide on 'TAIWAN TOURIST'S GUIDE BOOK' Awwwww... so 感动！

真的谢谢你啊，美雅！我已经可以感受到台湾人的友善和温心。。。。

**Legend: for you non-hokkien peng out there
(translations for new hokkien terms tat appear above, all others pls refer to earlier translations dated 10-11/06...ok bo?)
**kopi gian : super craving for kopi
**la kopi : stir kopi, leisurely having kopi
**si mi yi shi: wat you mean
**kee kee kok kok: other kuching kurak stuffs

back tracking to ... 11/06/2007 心情

2007-07-08T18:09:00.000+08:00

08.07.2007, sunday 6.14 pm
back tracking to..

11.06.2007

Ooi, Mojo why so angry today?!

今天应该是吃bak chang 的好心情, BUT! WHERE IS MY BAK CHANG!
ai ya miscommunication with **mah mah la...thot she said she is making bak chang today...i happy happy eat a light lunch this afternoon hoping to 大开杀戒 on bak changs tonight....and then! **sekali bo bak chang, on top of bo lunch, so **yao si by 6pm...

哎，今天的心情糟透了。。。。。因为我只想吃妈妈的bak chang!

那天你老公问我：怎样，还有两个礼拜就要去台湾了，happy ma?
i am not in the least mood for our holidays yet....why? i asked myself....... worry, worry and more worries about work. can the one managed without me? not tat alot is expected from the one during my absence, but can the one do the least of the least?

还有啊，那个**zieng hu 啊，**cho lung bo eng nia, gong si mi gst kee 2 % la...the 2% increased may seemed little to them, but its 200% extra work for us in retail related biz...
哎，tell your 老公 i 什么holiday 心情都没了。

希望台湾的天气能转好，我的心情也能渐渐转晴

**Legend: for you non-hokkien peng out there
(huh? still need translations ah?)

mah mah : grandmother
sekali bo : suddenly don't have
yao si : hunger to death
zieng hu : government
cho lung bo eng nia : make people not free only
gong si mi gst kee 2 % : say wat gst increase 2% only

back tracking to...10/06/2007 dear astro, my 1st entry .....

2007-07-08T17:25:00.000+08:00

08.07.2007, sunday 5.46 pm

transferring all my earlier blogs to blogspot today.....

starting from 10.06.2007

ASTRO BOY, the love of my life...

today huiping's blog on her Aussie trip inspired me to start a blog of my own, which i have always wanted to, but DON'T KNOW how...you know me la, very 'IT idiot' one.... even my 'greentea' cousin also started her own blog...cannot, i cannot lose to her ...

dont care la, after much tips from huiping thru our msn-ing (even at this point of time as i am typing away...), i am ready to go! go! go! 加油！加油！thanks HUIPING!
i die die also must get this 'ORIENTATED' before i upload my TAIWAN trip's pics when i come back in July...

yes!yes! TAIWAN here i come! TANK, DYLAN, wait for me, 我来了！
ASTRO BOY, POWER RANGERS, HUIPING, SEE YOU ALL AGAIN IN JULY!

(sorry ah, i doubt there will be another entry until July...this **zieng hu hor, **cho lung bo eng nia...GST **suka suka go up 2%, they know how much work we have to do or not, just to 配合 them ... want to go holiday also can not go in peace! **KNS)

**Legend: for you non-hokkien peng out there
zieng hu : government
cho lung bo eng nia : make people not free only
suka suka : uhmmm...tio si suka suka la!
KNS : kanasai

HELLO! GREENTEA

cross over, hello!

2007-07-05T22:59:00.000+08:00

05.07.2007 thursday, singapore time 11.12 pm

not a new blogger, but this is a cross over to blogspot.com

hello everybody, hopefully blogspot.com is more user friendly then my previous ones, not to mention any 'names'....hahahha

well, lets hope its a good start for me here, no more late nights just inserting and adjusting the positions of the pictures/photos on to my blog .....

just a 'sneak preview' to what to expect from my next entry, though it may not be tomorrow cos have been crushed under a pile of workload recently

and coming back from a relatively shiok holiday to taiwan definitely didnt recharge me enough for the workload waiting ahead for me. sigh.. sigh.. sigh..

on a lighter tone, i will try to give a day to day account of my 8 days holiday trip to taiwan, as you have never 'scene' before.....magnificent photos inclusive

thats story of my life for the time being

hope to see ya all online soon