I'm curious...Looking at the site meter report, I seem to have lots of readers/fans *ahem*ahem* out there reading my blog but somehow or rather I don't get any comments at all...I'm curious, really curious....why are my readers so shy shy one or perhaps it's not a fan but more of a stalker???? *shudder* *shudder*

Anyway, to all my readers/fans/stalkers/admirers/ out there, Nice meeting you and thank you for visiting me. It would be even nicer if I can get to hear from you all....I'm a nice person in nature and I don't have any criminal record, be it murder or just a parking offence....so, feel free to talk to me, yes?

Weekend is here and we are going to a pot-luck dinner tomorrow. Can't think of what to cook (surely not my lasagne again). AL is thinking of baking the bread pudding (like the one that Mau baked last Sunday) I'm not good/I don't like sweet stuff so I guess he has to bake it himself....

Toodles!

Singapore

I'm finally back from my shopping spree in Singapore and my legs are aching like hell.....We are proud of the hotel that we stayed though very basic but much better than the lousy Grand Central...Strand Hotel is located at Bencoolen Street and a walking distance to Orchard as well as to Bugis/Bras Basah......

Plaza Singapura was the most visited place in my list (I went there at least 2 times daily during the my 3 days stay in Singapore) cos that's where I bought my craft items, at Spotlight... The 2nd most visited place was Bras Basah Complex where I spent the biggest chunk of my Singapore dollars at Art Friend (rubber stamps, inkpad and all that stuff)

Albeit the short stay, I managed to do the following:
1) Bought my craft materials from Spotlight , Prints and Art Friend
2) Bought 2 blouses & a pleated skirt from Chomel
3) Bought several T-shirts from Hang Ten
4) Shopped at Marks & Spencer
5) Sightseeing at the Esplanade and Merlion Park

Talking about the Merlion, we walked all the way on the last day of our stay just to find that the ever famous icon of SIngapore, the Merlion was closed for touch-up and restoration.....and the thing that impressed me was the way they keep the renovation and dirty works as discreet as possible....Instead of just cover it up with some unsightly canvas or plywood (like what we normally get in Kuching), the Government actually took the effort to camouflage it with a very artistic painting.










The Merlion hidden behind....














The first stray animal found in Singapore city....and a smart one too...

Fancy keeping guard of it's bronze counterpart..

Men vs underwear

I was having a casual talk with a female acquaintance and she brought up something amusing and at the same time good to think about issue. Her man apparantely does not wear underwear to sleep and she remarked that it is similar to why women does not wear bras to sleep!

It has never occur to me the similarities that she mentioned, as to me, underwears/panties are something that we cannot live without, be it the lacy bits or the serviceable types (Leggy's illustration of a full cotton underwear!!) I can accept the fact that some men are never in good term with his underwear, thus, no underwear regardless of the time and day of the month. What I can't seem to digest is man who wears underwear during the day but rip them off the moment he hit the bed...to sleep, I mean.

Anyway, I spotted an interesting site and it really surprised me further to note how big a deal is underwear to men, even to extent of doing a public poll....View the current results

However, I would like to specially present this part to this acquaintance of mine with this message: Your Man is not NORMAL!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

Do you sleep in your underwear?
Yes (45%)
No (31%)
Sometimes (22%)
20137 total votes

Ok, aside the worldwide survey, feel free to participate in my short and precise survey here:

1.Your Age Group
a) 10-19
b) 20-30
c) 31-40
d) 41-50
e) 51-60
f) Past your menopausal age

2. Do you wear underwear to bed?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Sometimes

3. What kind of underwear you normally wear?
a) G-string
b) Loose Boxer
c) Tight athletic Boxer
d) Tanga
e) The old Apek Blue Cotton Boxer

4. What is your favourite color of underwear?
a) Black
b) Blue
c) Green
d) Red
e) White
f) Colourful/stripes

You can either post your answers in my comment box or if you are the shy type (especially those who choose the answer E for Question 3, you can email me

This is just for fun, ok? I'm not representing any brands of underwears nor am I an underwear maniac!!

I AM SICK

So angry!!!! 2 more days to my trip and I am down with severe cough, flu and sore throat...

Aloy said he might have to leave me at the Changi International Airport Quarantine Department if I don't get well by Thursday...What a meany!

Things to do in Singapore (if I'm not retain at the Quarantine):
1) Buy rubber stamps and other craft materials at Art Friend, Bras Basah Complex
2) Get my supply for my next project - Dad & Mum's wedding anniversary invites
3) Buy beads, stickers, papers and any other embellishments from Spotlight Plaza Singapura
4) eat Chicken Rice at Thomson Road
5) Eat other international cuisines
6) Eat Old Chang Kee Fishball
7) Buy lacy lingerie
8) Look for the mini polo mint sweets in a giant polo case
9) Buy shoes and some baju
10) Buy persimmons

That should be enough to cover my 3D 2N trip

It's Monday

Good morning Monday, Good morning Computer, Good morning People....

I'm feeling very high spirited today merely because I'm going to Singapore this Thursday for my long deserved short holiday...and I'm gonna spend like there's no tomorrow on my craft materials. Also, I need to have my wardrobe changed, so I shall be heading down to Orchard for that! Leggy told me that I should reward myself with something that I really like since I have done something big that she's proud of!! Sorry Readers, no sharing on that!

I have just got an email from my supplier in KL informing me that she's sending my order today and should reach me by the 20th.....Couldn't wait to use the magnetic alphabet rubber stamps but I suppose judging on the estimated time of arrival and the lousy postal service, I don't think I'll get to see my order until my return from Singapore!!

Food Review

Was supposed to post this last Friday but I forgot the name of the shop until Mau went back to the place and got the name for me. (Thanks Mau!)

Ok, Mau and I went to Xuan Ye Delicous Food for lunch last Friday (it's a cafe ala resturant style located opposite Star Cineplex, next to Sin Hua Travel)I first heard of this eatery from Leggy but never get to go there until now.

We were surprised to note the reasonably-priced menus and the variety of dishes, ranging from Western to Chinese. People are friendly and very helpful. The only problem I had was the difficulty in communicating since they only speak Mandarin (Despite being a handicap in communicating with them, they still took time to explain to me on all the dishes in their simple yet understandable English) Anyway, I ordered it's deep fried pork chop noodles and Mau ordered it's steamed pork with chinese sausage and rice....And all their dishes came with a bowl of hot seaweed soup and an awful lot of seaweed in the soup instead of just a few strains like some shops (Yeah yeah, I don't take seaweed but i love the soup tho) Between the 2 dishes + soup, 2 cans of Cincau, superb customer service and nice ambience, we were charged RM11.50 only

Steamed minced pork with chinese sausage. Notice the seaweed soup??? That's a lot, rite?? Mau insisted that I took the photo with a bit of action, thus the hands.

Deep Fried Pork Chop with Noodles - Sorry for the puny looking noodles....It was not like that when it was served....I was too hungry I actually stirred the noodles before realising that I haven't took the pix.

A little girl of about 4 years old wearing a pyjama (presumed must be the tawkay nio's daughter) was seen "helping" in serving the customers. I know, I know, this is actually child labour, but I was just too impressed with their service to report them!! :-)

Thumbs up for the good service, good food and good price! Will sure go back there soon.

BAD DAY

What a day to start.......reminds me of the Song Bad day by Daniel Potter (How I wish I can take a holiday now!!)

Anyway, it was supposed to be a good day today, with me being able to wake up by myself (even before the alarm clock went off)

Then, it started with several motorists who irritates me by being so slow and unalert causing me to lose my temper and honking at least 4 times this morning....then the massive jam at Keretapi. (Bloody hell, where did all the motorists came from)...the jam was so massive that I was stucked at the peak of the flyover for at least 15 mins and then it started to crawled and it took me about 40 mins to travel from my home to the traffic light at Jalan Keretapi..

That's not the end.....I'm getting mad with the never-ending construction in front of a chinese school and in fornt of Tadika Sri Keria....They have actually stopped constructing the road few weeks ago and it's an accident-waiting-to-be-happened zone with the numerous unsmooth road and lots and lots of potholes....man!

So, who shud I blame this time??? Definitely the Football fever and the opening of school term!!!

On a more happier note, I've just received an email informing me that my order of rubber stamps from US has finally arrived!

Names translation

This is fun! Spotted a website where it will help to translate your first name to Japanese...I was so thrilled at trying just to find out that Japanese doesn't recognise my name! Shucks! So, I have to settled with a name closest to mine and this is how it turns out:

This is how my more-or-less-name should look like in Japanese:

I'm a mandarin-challenged person but I can more or less gauge what the above character is in Mandarin (People said Mandarin & Japanese are similar leh)...Anyway, I think it shud be "Muk Er Tou" (meaning Wood Two Knife)...HAHAHAHAHAHAH........

Anyway, those mandarin literate people out there - Pls correct me if I'm wrong in the translation....

This blog has just made my downhearted-boring-depressed day much more meaningful!!!!

Have a great weekend to one and all!

Mt Singgai

I know this is an overdue post.....I totally forgot about it until today. Anyway, we went mountain climbing cum personal retreat to Mount Singgai at Bau on 2-6-06.

Introduction:
Mt Singgai is a pilgrimage centre and it was actually selected as one of the pilgrimage spots during the Jubilee Year. It's also known as CMPC (Catholic Memorial Pilgrimage Centre). There are 12 stops as you climb up to the peak and at every stop, one is supposed to observe the Station of the Cross. (Btw, there are 14 stations of the Cross) The last 2 stops are at the peak with as u approach the church...Lodgings are provided at a very minimal rates for those who wish to spend the night....There is also a canteen to cater for your daily meals, and of course, there are several praying stations for those who wish to spend some quiet time with God...The most amazing thing about CMPC is that all the infrastructure and lodgings and what not are built on a gotong-royong (community-based) basis whereby each villager will go up every weekend carrying several building materials and build the whole community up there, all thanks to the leader, Mr Vincent Eddy. It's open to members of the public, but non catholics are reminded to maintain utmost silence throughtout the journey up to the peak.

Scenario:
We went up at 7.30am and by the time we reached the feet of the mountain, there were several cars parked at the empty land. We started our journey, stopping at every station for a rosary and prayer.. There were several climbers passing us, not stopping for prayers, carrying loads and loads of food and drinks, talking loudly and merrily (and from my assumption, they were there for picnics and obviously non christians) That's not all. As we arrived at the peak of the mountain, we decided to go to the Grotto for a short prayer and there, again, we noticed several youngsters (obviously a non-catholic again) sitting there and talk loudly without even giving consideration to the prayerful atmosphere....I was totally upset at a boy who went up to the grotto and started washing his hands and face using the water from the fountain next to the statue of Our Lady. Anyway, let's not judge the whole population over a minority of visitors who did not behave....I do met several polite climbers too!!

Message to visitors:
1) This is a pilgrimage centre. Please respect the place by not destroying the religuous articles placed there
2) The mountain belongs to the community and you are just a visitor. Please do not take anything that's not yours, ie the durian buds, durians or even the nice looking fern
3) Please be quiet when you are at the peak...majority of us are there for retreats.
4) Please help in carrying the bricks up....please do not carry for fun and then just throw it away along the way. It cost them money.

Photos:

The steps going up the hill

Christ the King Chapel

The first beam of the church

the Arch to the Amphiteatre

06-06-06

As I was browsing through the church notice last Sunday in church, I couldn't help noticing the long list of wedding masses yesterday. What is so great about getting hitched on a working Tuesday, I thought.... Then, after much thoughts, I realised that it was not the Tuesday that the couples are interested in, but the date..

Honestly, there were at least 7 knowned weddings yesterday, what more the unknowned ones. I was caught in a jam yesterday evening on my way back from work due to the overflowing of cars attending receptions in various hotels & restaurants in the city.

So, what's so great about the triple 6???? Apart from the nice arrangement of numbers (060606), I don't find any significance resembling the number 666, but I do came accross an extract from the bible signifying 666 as the numbers for the devils....Even the movie The Omen was launched on 06-06-06.....Not sure about the chinese belief though....Perhaps someone can tell me????

A piece of advice here for young couples who are preparing to get married - Don't miss 07-07-07, 08-08-08, 09-09-09 or maybe even 10-10-10........I would go for 88-88-88......Don't u think that's an even nicer number????

Life

I stumbled upon a very inspring yet emotional blog of a very young girl who recently passed on from cancer. She recorded her life story from the day she discovered that she had cancer, her ups and downs, the treatment and finally her resting. It totally amazed me to see such a strong willed girl who fought her life for the sake of her family, her friends, her partner and most of all, her sanity.

I just couldn't hold back my tears reading her last and final blog.

Life....Reading her blog just made us realised how important our life is... Reading her blog also confirmed that not all bloggers are exhibitionists!

5 things to do before the week is over:
1) Apply leave for my Singapore trip
2) Make reservation with at least 2 hotels for my KL trip
3) Find fault with at least 1 staff :-)
4) Make at least a card
5) Tidy up my workstation

5 things to do during the holidays:
1) Sleep late
2) Make at least 5 cards
3) Bake something
4) Try making the seaweed popiah
5) Tidy up my craftstation

5 things to say before the day is over:
1) I'm bored
2) I'm sleepy
3) I'm tired
4) I'm lazy
5) I'm hungry

Bukit Mata Seafood

This is partly an advertisement and personal testimony...

My aunty and her family are going back to Auckland today and we brought them out for dinner last night at Bukit Mata Seafood No 25.... Leggy introduced this stall to me ages ago and I've been faithfully patronising them whenever I'm there. Btw, this is the stall where I learnt how to describe the half shelled clams....

Anyway, food was marvellous and well served....Freshly cooked to the right taste. Everyone was thrilled and the best part was the free entertainment. Cultural Village set up a stage there with all sorts of cultural performances.....

The food was ridiculously priced....So cheap that for a moment, u thought u are paying in OZ dollars. Imagine, where on earth at this present moment can u pay just a mere RM250.00 for 8 dishes (4 types of seafood) plus umpteen rounds of juices and beer for 12 pax????? Even kam pua mee in Sibu is expensive now....

I promised the tow kay nio that I will help her in promoting her stall (that's the price to pay for being charged cheap and it worth every single cent in my pocket) so, here goes:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies, if you happen to crave for seafood and you are in Kuching, of course, please drop by Bukit Mata No 25 Seafood Stall at Taman Kereta....

Things You'll find only in Sibu

Dessert for a reception - yam with siew mai

Birthday bun

Kom Pia - the salty type

Kom Pia - the sweet type

Grandma's rice dumpling

London???

Spotted this telephone booth at the Esplanade.....Who says u have to burn a hole in your pocket to go to London??? I paid only RM194 airfare to see London

Of Happiness and Sadness

Went back to Sibu over the weekend to attend my maternal grandmother's 70th Birthday. It was both a sad and happy occasion for us all... Happy obviously because it was her birthday and sad because this could be her last birthday. She's suffering from an advance stage of breast cancer and her days are numbered, literally. Her children are keeping mum about her serious condition from her. Despite her sickness, she is a very nice and quiet lady. We arrived her house on Saturday morning with lots of food that she personally made just for us......Before I fly, I kept on trying to recall how she looks like as I have no recollection of that.....I can't even remember the last time I saw her..Anyway, she remembers my name and that's all that matters.

Her signature dishes are Pak Lo Duck and the pillow-look-a-like bak chang....I immediately took 1 bak chang and ate it and it was very nice indeed. (My sister, the anonymous said I was tham chiak but how could you turn down the invitation from such a nice lady who prepared so much for you despite her sicknesss?)

Anyway, her birthday luncheon was yesterday and it was a very emotional one...What saddened me the most was that innocent look of hers.....As much as the children tried to keep silent about her condition, deep down, I'm sure, grandma knows that her days on earth are limited.

How does it feel knowing that your days are numbered? How would you react? Would you be as calm? How would you prepare yourself to face death and finally if it arrives, how do you take it? When do you have to say goodbye to all your loved ones, would you be given enough time to bid them goodbye and tell them not to mourn for you?

How, how, when, when...........................that's life.....

Good News and Bad News

Let's start with Good News first:
1) I don't have to go to NZ anymore
2) I'm going to Singapore end of June
3) Singapore is having its Grand Sale from end of June until July
4) We can redeemed our Singapore airtickets thru A's accummulated enrich points
5) I can go to Art Friend @Bras Basah to get my rubber stamps

Bad news leh:
1) I wouldn't be going to NZ liaw
2) All Singapore hotels are fully booked (reservation thru the travel agents that is....)
3) All Singapore hotels marked up their room rates by at least 100% during the travel period (Note: DON'T EVER THINK OF GOING TO SINGAPORE BETWEEN 19TH AND 24TH JUNE 2006 UNLESS U ARE ATTENDING THE COMMUNIC ASIA 2006 CONVENTION, which yours truly is going for)

ARGHHHHHHHH....See how frustrated I am??? Can anyone help me???? Hello????? Is there any Singapore-based bloggers reading my blog now???? I need solutions........................

Steaming the steamboat

We celebrated Mother's Day by bringing mum to taste the food of Thailand at Coca Restaurant Steamboat Buffet. G is away in real world Thailand, so there were only 7 of us including Little J.

Promotional rate for Mother's Day dinner was RM45.00 excluding tax but somehow or rather, someone in the restaurant like us so much that they billed us RM37.50 only. Ok, it's an eat-all-you-can, so obviously we ate all we can....We were given 2 steamboats with chicken broth and tom yam in each pot. A variety of dishes were served and I like the chicken ball the most. The fried rice was good too...I was told that the highlight of the restaurant is their secret homemade chilli sauce and it was rumoured that the sauce is airflown daily from Thailand. I'm a bit sceptical about that but nevertheless, I'm not sure how good the sauce is cos I don't take hot stuff.

Food in general was superb and the service fantastic. A good place to go but I personally prefers Hornbill Steamboat, both because of its price and its variety of dishes.

Happy Mother's Day to all eligible lot!

Staying United

Tell me what is wrong with this banner? Noticed it on my way down to work yesterday and it is supposed to be an advertisement by a travel agency promoting USA.....

Lasagna

I don't know why but of late, I have been so engrossed in baking lasagna. Maybe because I have got an oven for my birthday and I've suddenly craved for Italian men....Anyway, Sunday was the 5th tray of lasagna I baked since Easter Sunday

I baked 2 trays for Easter brunch and everyone said it was nice....and I baked another tray last Saturday for SSVP gathering (though a bit burnt but everyone said it was nice too and I have my whole car smell like lasagna too) and the last tray was last Sunday evening and I must say that was the best of all......it was so nicely baked and the cheese melted at the right texture...hmmmm..

Since I'm in good mood today, I'm sharing with you my recipe...(No measurement tho, just ingredients cos I'm the type of person who doesn't believe in measurement!)

Top View
Side View



MNG's Traditional Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 pkt of instant Lasagna sheets (San Remo)
1 pkt of Mozarella Cheese (parmesan works just fine)
1 tub of Cheddar Cheese, chopped finley (optional)
Minced Beef
1 bottle of San Remo bolognese sauce (Only lazy people uses this, otherwise, u can put in some herbs and tomato puree, it works just fine)
1 small can of San Remo Tomato puree (again, this is optional)
Garlic, Celery, Carrot and Onions (cubed finely - I omitted the celery cos' I hate it)
I bottle of fresh milk
A tablespoon of flour
Butter (250gm, I think)

Preparation:
Beef filling:
Put a quarter butter into a pan, put in all the garlic, celery, carrot and onions. fry lightly and then add in the beef....Simmer for a while, and then add in the bolognese sauce and the puree...Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for awhile and cover it for later use.

Cheese Sauce
Put another quarter butter into a pan and let it melt, add in flour, stir it for a while, then pour in the milk...let it boil, switch off the fire and put in half the mozarella and cheddar....keep aside

Preparation:
Oil the baking tray; start the base with a layer of beef, then the cheese sauce before u lay the lasagna sheets on top to cover; repeat the process until u r satisfy with the thickness (but don't go for more than 3 layers) end the layering with a layer of beef and the sauce....sprinkle the remaining mozarella and cheddar. Bake it at 180C for no more than 30 mins, or until golden brown......Let it set for 5 mins before cutting it....

Yummy....Enjoy

A missing friend

As I was doing my work, I suddenly thought of a friend whom I have not heard or seen for a long time.

He has always been a nice friend, a person whom we can confide in and I do miss him a lot......but it's sad to note that he might not be feeling the same way towards us cos' he's shutting himself away from us, his friends. How I wish he could call us and tell us that he's ok and he still treats us as his friends......

How sad.........