Sunday, September 20, 2009

Lonely Planet's cooking for the lonely and bored

I know i am not much of a cook but i managed to try my mum's so called " Dish-for-when-your-mum-is-not-at-home-and-you-have-to-cook-for-dad chicken rice' last month. Easy, cheap, filling and tastes good too! :-)

You can start by preparing chicken (marinated with salt and pepper), ginger(sliced and cut in long thin sticks), mushroom (the hard type where you need to soak into water to soften it, then sliced it),black soy sauce, rice (beras) and of course a rice cooker.

And the lesson begins...
1. Put the pan/wok on fire, pour in cooking oil
2. Once hot, throw in ginger and mushroom, fry until you can smell the ginger (not burnt ginger ya!! :-)

3. Next in goes the marinated chicken, stir-fry it a abit, and add in the black soy sauce to give it some color. Continue to stir-fry until the chicken and the sauce is well blended.
Add in more black soy sauce if the color is too pale.

4. Then pour in water (enough to cover the chicken) and leave it to boil.

5. While waiting, prepare the rice in the cooker - wash it (the beras), make sure no water and keep it aside.

6. Check that the chicken is 3/4 cooked, add in salt/ MSG secukup rasa

7. Taste in check, pour the chicken into the rice cooker - the sauce should be double the height of the rice (the same as when you normally cook the rice, and your mum asks you to stick out your finger to measure?? Well, the same concept, only thing is that you dont want to stick it in when it is boiling hot now, do you?! ;-)

8. Close the lid, start the rice cooker and wait...
Once cooked it looks something like this..
Easy isn't it?
It may look black, but it does tastes good. You can have the chicken rice, served with cucumber, and with Chili sauce too!
This is what mine looks like, the chicken was so tender to start with and the taste was just not too bad :-)

Happy cooking!!!!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Classic

Last two weeks was Classic Week for me.

I have been watching some classical movie, to name a few Casablanca, Sabrina, My Fair Lady and The Roman Holiday. All i can say is...its long. It took me 3 hours to finish Casablanca!
Anyway, it is a refreshing break from all the latest DVD movies i was watching.

Here are some of the pictures i took from the movie.
Audrey Hepburn is so amazingly pretty!!
I also watched Schindler's List - a movie of how a man by the name of Oskar Schindler who created a list of almost 1,000 names, paid the Germans with his own money to save them all from being brutally murdered by the Germans.
An honestly amazing movie who captured the war and the torture beautifully. Movie is in black and white and I especially liked the part where a little girl in a red dress, the only scene in that movie that is with color, was running amongst the prisoners of war, fleeing from the soldiers. I gasped when i saw that same red dress again, not running this time but laid on a wheelbarrow, not moving. I cried towards the end.
I kept thinking what the Jews would do whenever they see a German right after the war. Would they spit at the Germans for all the torture they've been through..all the hatred inside them..
It's sad what the people at that time had to go through, that is why i am always greatful to be born in this century.
If you liked this movie, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas might be suitable too. Same war, same struggle but a different kind of friendship - good movie.

The man who created the famous list - Oskar Schindler (acted by Liam Neeson)

Resting place of Oskar Schindler - the stones surrounding was laid by each and everyone of the survivors from the List.
The next time you are in an elevator/lift, look up from where you press the floor button, and if you see the name Schindler, you know you are standing on part of a great man's history....

Thursday, July 30, 2009

A talent gone...

Aku baru perasan Yasmin Ahmad meninggal

I actually met her when i was in Bali. Both me and Nurul were waiting for our luggage at the airport when we spotted her. She is the same as what you see in the TV - simple.
We were thrilled that she actually chatted with us...told us it was not her first trip and this trip is to look for 'ilham'...hehehehe....
She speaks good Cantonese too, husband Chinese maa!

But i always wonder whether she was a he. I know it is not nice of me to say that but i can't help but wonder...sorry Yasmin (God rest her soul!). I do love some of her movies - fusion of traditional and modern world, a blend of the old and young...

Her supporters continue to grieve....

Another talent gone...

Friday, July 10, 2009

Vietnam Office Dinner

*chào mừng ! chào mừng ! chào mừng !

Finally managed to get a group photo of the people that i have come to know for the past 5 months or so - our work client, BaoViet Life(BVL) Insurance. This was taken last week Friday at a Vietnamese dinner in Bat Ninh, an hour's drive from Hanoi city.

The deputy CEO of BVL chartered a mini bus and took the 23 of us there. Food was so so but it was the first time i had beer with ice. Not too bad considering the hot and humid weather...at least you won't get drunk that easily! We were treated to Vietnamese singing and dance, very 'local'..and the funny thing was the restaurant had some extra 'Western' dishes served to the 3 of us 'foreigner'....hilarious!!!!

We cheered beer many times that night that i thought i would piss my pants whenever i downed a glass, but i was glad i went along... to get out of the city with a group of people. I thought that night improved our work relationship. Well....may be not that close as they still think us as charging them too expensive to use our software :-)

Anyway......
Here we go! See if you can spot the 3 'foreigners'...hahahahaha...i bet if you don't know me you might think i am one of the locals.... The lady (Laetitia) is the principal consultant for this project (which is my mentor since i joined this company, nice lady) and the guy (Gerry) is my colleague looking after the IT side(soft-spoken, nice guy too). Both of them from Ozzy - Sunshine Coast(Brisbane) and Melbourne repectively. Laetitia's originally from South Africa; Gerry's wifey is Vietnamese and he can speak Vietnamese. (duh..!!!). The deputy CEO (Dr. Quong, PhD Dr..) is standing third from the left. Me?! Me?! How about me?! If you can't tell which one i am then i guess you are either blinded by my smile (ceh wah..) or i am becoming more and more like a Vietnamese *phụ nữ !

Well my friends, as usual...have a nice Friday night and weekend!

'til then....

*tạm biệt!



*chào mừng - Welcome
*phụ nữ - lady
*tạm biệt - Goodbye

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

STUPID-DUPID

The most 'stupidest' thing happened to me yesterday...sigh..sakit hati sungguh bila nak cerita ni.

As usual at my apartment, at around 7.30pm a lady would ring at my door to collect rubbish. Everyday without fail (or maybe a few days she missed, aiyaa give or take la noh!). Anyway, last night, when i went to the door (normally i will just stand near my door and hand over the rubbish) tonight i had to 'venture' a little bit further just because that lady was 'extra fast' today, so i had to strained my neck a bit to see where she was. Then suddently the unexpected happened.... i was locked out of my own apartment. f*@k! s&*t! *tut*! #$%^&*&^%$% ! Luckily i was fully clothed as opposed to my normal skimpy pj (muahahahaha), and had my slippers on, i went down to the reception to get an extra key. When i told them about it, one of the receiption (she) laughed at me and said she has the key BUT.... i have to f*cking pay 300,000 VND, which is around RM 75. I was really pissed off for asking me to pay when it is MY OWN FU*CKING DOOR!!!!!! Finally i asked her to call my landlord, whom i cannot get hold of of all the days. I was cursing and whining away and suddently noticed that there was this handsome guy (Asian), sitting at the lobby (later found out that he was waiting for this gorgeous girl, Asian as well...sigh).. anyway, he too was laughing after hearing my epic tale of wanting to climb through my neighbours balcony to my own balcony. Seriously i wanted to but i was in my skirt (the flowy type one), and it was raining kucing dan anjing, so i thought i didn't want to slip and die on a rainy day....

Alas, i had to resort to paying a stupidly gianormous amount of money just to open my own stupid door, and i blame the wind!!!!! or should i blame the rubbish lady...hmmmm....

Friday, June 12, 2009

Hanoi -- KL -- Hanoi

I was so excited to get back to KL after 4 months, so excited that i almost miss my flight back because the secretary changed my usual flight schedule..
Anyway, first thing first i had McD when i arrived that evening. You don't have McD in Hanoi. :( I made a list of what i am going to eat on my one week trip back, that included Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai banjir, Banana Leaf Rice, Nasi campur, Yong Tau Foo, Chap Farn, Nando's and Teh Tarik!!! Not to say they dont have it here in Hanoi but i want the original taste.. you know what i mean!

The next morning i went to Kajang to Suraya's house to get back my cute cute MyVi back. Oh how i miss it! Then straight to see Lily my hairdresser to get my har trimmed and highlighted!
That night was Kara-oke night with my friends Sumalee, Kaancana, Suraya and a long-lost kawan Jennifer. I met her when she and the same geng visited me when i was working in Bangkok, pretty Chinese girl, very 'lurus' but nice girl..hehehehe...Memang tak sah la kalau kara-oke tak minimum 5 jam kan..went back at 4am.

The next day i woke up abit late and went out for late lunch at Raju Banana Leaf Rice (list checked!!) with my ex. We are still friends and yes i have gotton over him so dont worry... He told me what he's been up to lately and so did i. We talked more than we ever did when were together, i like that. :)
Well that night was pre Gawai at one of my bestest friend's house Lilut. Together with my travelling companion Suraya, with Kak Za and Min (Kak Za's friend) we 'konvoi' to Lilut's house, following a 'map' that Lilut drew. She said to follow the "Smiley Face" and so we did... :p Her new rented place was much much better than the previous ones...don't play play ada flat screen TV ok!!! There we met Zaliha and her latest conquest (i think he is from Kelantan, younger of course!). we had some pizza's, fried finger food and not to forget tuak - one from Sarawak, one from airport and one from Hanoi. Fulamakkkk....Hanoi tuak kuat jugak k!!!! we chit chat, most of the time buat lawak bodoh, oh and we also had sesi luah perasaan...ooooh, itu wajib!
Sad for Lilut because her daughter Darlene is not around now but i think it's better for both her and Darlene, but soon they will unite after she brings her family down to KL. I think that is still the plan....betui ka Lut?
I wished Dolly was there too, another one of my bestest friend...she flew back to Sarawak to celebrate Gawai. It's been a long time since i saw her.

And that concludes my first weekend in KL, fruitful but still tak puas! hahahahaha...
On Monday it was back to business. My another close friend Nurul (she insisted of calling ourselves BFF - best friends forever...heheheheh), anyway she picked me up and we went for brunch at Bangsar - Nasi Lemak (list checked!) and kopi-o. Then i headed straight to Prudential to make my claim. Now i have to tell you what happened to me that i need to do a claim :(
It started on a warm summer evening..cehwah... i was sneezing very badly that day because of the dust and smog in Hanoi, then suddently i felt a very sharp pain on my back, i couldn't stand straight. I had to lie down and since then i could not even sneeze or walk or even stand straight. So i finally call International SOS to my apartment in Hanoi, they came in 10 minutes and gave me medicine to ease the pain. The doctor said there was nothing he could do - i dont need any surgery as mine was an old injury that now is coming back to haunt me. he warned me that one of the medicine will make me drowsy, so i asked the doc and nurse (the nurse could speak Malay as she told me she worked in Alor Setar before...what a small world eh!!!!) to place all my food and drinks, handphone and TV remote near me (i was lying on the sofabed) before they left. After a while i had to go to the little girl's room so i stood up and made my way there.Suddently....i felt darkness...next thing i knew i was on the floor, half my body is in the toilet and another half was in the bedroom. I knew i had fainted. I tried to get up but the backpain was too acute and i told myself, what the heck so i slept on the cold hard floor. While i was lying there alone, thinking...i felt really really alone, never in my life i felt that alone. I cried myself to sleep that night. I woke up many times but i just couldnt move myself back to the sofa where my handphone is, the pain was the worst i have felt, i thought i would die, seriously! I calmed myself to sleep again and when i finally woke up (i think it was around 4am) and the medicine was slowly taking its effect, so i eased myself back to the sofa, ptactically crawling with my hands and inching myself slowly (very slowly) to the sofa. Once i reached i was so happy and thankful that someone will not find me weeks later sprawled in the toilet..dead! :p I was contemplating whether to call SOS again and be addmitted to the hospital. After thinking of how expensive it was going to cost me (and at that time i didnt know whether my SOS card could pay for it and also my company has travel insurance) i decided to just lie down on the sofa and see how things go later that morning.

I tell you, that was the scariest feeling i ever had in my life, and i do not want, i repeat i do not want to die alone in future!

Ok now, back to my claim.... well it ended up i could not claim from Prudential for outpatient cost as the SOS card covers surgical and hospitalization only. So later i am going to claim from my company for the cost of medicine and house visit.

Tuesday was not much activity..i stayed at home and then i went out with Nurul again. Since she is not working so we just lepak chap-o-ko. Talked about stupid things (like we normally do).

Wednesday was heaven and hell for me... Heaven because we get to shop, Hell becasue money was going out like tap water! Anyway, Suraya took emergency leave (bapa sakit konon!!) so that she could go shopping with me. She was too into her work lately that she needed a break, and i needed more working clothes. So started at 11am (oh we had nasi campur for lunch and early dinner Nando's...yeay two in the lists checked!!) and finished at 8pm..can you believe it! Kalau bukan my cousin Suree called to say she is already at the bus station to come pick her up we would ahve continued until god knows when!
We picked Suree up and head straight to Yong Tau Foo (list checked!! it's getting closer..). Suree ha slimed down alot! Gone were the chubby fats and boyish looks. She looks so "perempuan" and so manja..gerenti banyak jantan dah terlekat punya. hehehehehhe

Thursday i went out with Suree, took her around town. She will be moving into my place in July and using my car. Got a job at Sungai Buloh. We drove to her future work place and found out it was soo near! Dropby her aunty's house and chit chat for a while. Went to buy her return bus ticket at Duta. That's about it for Thursday.

Now Friday........Friday is the most of the days i've been looking forward to. All the 'tak kerja punya char bors"- Nurul, Suraya, Suree and Angela drove to Cherating. Ko bayangkan empat pompuan havoc on the road until this one white car with guys was following us all the way until the toll their car broke down...aduh kesiannya but what we can do??!!! sempat lagi that guy came down from the car to check his car but before that siap angkat tangan to ask us to call him. bodoh ka apa mana aku nak dapat nombor??!! :)

Anyway, we reached Impiana Resort at around 3pm, the place was fantastic! Nurul handled the reservation as her friend is the GM there - we got the room for free (which normally cost RM500), jangan jeles!! We were ushered to our room by the on-duty assistant manager, who later turned out to be my enemy(wait wait, later i cerita. sabar noh!). We went straight down to the beach, makan angin and pasir. The bedroom was calling to us at about 5pm so all of us went back. Suraya and Suree was head down, me and Nurul couldn't sleep yet so we sembang for a while. Soon Nurul went out to meet with her friend to thank him and i tried to sleep. But because my body was itchy from the sandfly bite so i decided to bath and head down to the bar. It was still early,i was the only one at the bar, the 3 piece Phillipino band was just preparing their stuff. I ordered beer and enjoyed the music that was playing for me, only me :).
At around 7pm, after 3 beers nurul called me for dinner with her friend but i told her i dah kenyang beer. I politely declined and continue enjoying the band playing to me, the only audience. I think Nuruk kesian kat i kot sorang2 so she joined me later. But you know me, i can be alone, as long as i have beer and music.
Looking at my watch it was almost 8pm and those two are still sleeping( mak aiii!!!! anak dara mana yang kuat tido nih!) i texted them and said i was at the bar and asked them to get ready to party!
then suddently i saw this man walked pass me and not sure because of the electric shock or because of the beer i smiled at him. He looked stunned a moment there, small smile back at me and walked pass me to another side of the bar. Well, no harm in trying... later found out that he was one of the friend of the hotel GM and also the resort manager..cool!

at 10pm we headed to Little Bali, where the night is always young..hahahaha. It was quite full and we managed to get a table near the toilet :( ordered beer (again) and waited for the other geng to arrive. The other geng turned out to be Otai...aku tak kisah, asalkan enjoy. Betui dok Lut?! hehehhehe. The GM(Nurul's friend) , M (the guy who walked pass me at the bar), S (the girl who's going to be my enemy) and two more of their friends were at our table. Kira happenin la meja kita malam tu. Most of the people there were so interested in our table that they kept on coming over to us..it was fun actually. I was not drunk but i was high, high enough not to care how i talked and how i behaved. I also danced! my god! my closest friends will know that Angela does not dance when she is sober... unless it is either I Will Survive or Sweet Child of Mine.

Anyway, I was trying to look for ways to mengurat M but S kept on being so close to him. That pissed me off because she dok asyik merajuk and she was not really talking to us. Depa dua bertenet ka??!!! So i started scheming. I told Suraya to mengurat S and i will try M. I tried many times when M came and sat next to me..but at the same time punya celaka $%$#%^ there's this boy who sat right next to me on the other side and kept on talking to me and asking me to dance. I was not annoyed actually because i was having so much fun so i layan jer la. Cute also that boy. When i turned to continue with M, tengok-tengok S dok tuang air beer dia ke dalam botol beer M..??????? What the f*@k! Kemon arrr...kalau tak habis beer tu bagi jer la the whole botol, apa hal dok tuang-tuang beer nih???!!! Aku tak paham betui pompuan nih.
And..and...tetiba jer dia merajuk and M had to drag her to the dance floor and dok peluk la depa dua. Alamak...there goes my chance! So what i did...i luahkan perasaan to Suraya and Suree. All the what the 'tut' came out from me that night... :p
Suddently the song Tiada Lagi - Amy Search came out. All of us were singing our hearts out, especially me. That boy was so shocked to see me sing the lyrics like it was right in front of me. He thought i was pure Chinese...sorry la beb, lagu kesukaan gua! Apa lagi, nyanyi like nobody's business, sampai the geng pun terkezut! The looks on their faces...hahahahahah

After that song, i decided to take the last effort to get close to M. So i motioned Suraya with my eyes (pandai-pandai la dia noh..) and i walked around to M (he was sitting beside S) and i hugged them from behind, nak amik kesempatan la konon..but little did i know S lagi pandai, she turned my body to her so that i will be hugging her instead of M! #$%^&&^%$# *sigh *sigh
Malam ni aku tak dapat laa...but you know what, i had the best time with these folks, i really really enjoyed myself very much..kan aku dah cakap as long as ada beer and music..jalan!!!!!

The next day we woke up and had late breakfast. Tea-time was sweet for me as i get to sit beside M, without S around. muahahahhahahaaha... sembang buat lawak semua lah keluar.
From the conversation later I found out that he has a son. Not sure whether he is still married or not, but what the heck. I am not going to marry him, just friends maa… so before we left for KL, after all the salam saying cinta cium muah muah (and S was there to say goodbye…##%$##$%^%), dengan hati yang duka lara we drove back. On the way Lilut called for clubbing but was too tired after trying so hard cobaan to peluk M..hehehehhe.

Sunday Sunday Sunday! Time past.. so fast! I had lunch with my brother, sis in law, my two nephews and their two friends. Hensem jugak-sorang Melayu, sorang lagi mat salleh campur India tapi melath kalah Melayu!!!!!
I think arr, i think it might be true that I will have either much older or much younger boyfriends laa… hmmm….musyikil sket nih. But anyway, I sent Suree to the bus station at 3. Tu hah, dah lama tunggu kat bus station is another boyfriend of hers. Aduh!!!! Aku sorang pun tak dak. Everytime when I think of Suree I remember the time we try to get her into Hard Rock Café. Inga tar Lut??!!! She was only a month shy from 18 at that time but the guy would not budge! And now she’s 24 already, my god! How old am I again???

Saying goodbye to KL and all my friends were the worst part on Monday. I was heading to the airport that morning..i hated it..hated the fact that I will be alone again – eating alone, watching TV and DVD alone, doing everything alone.
Well that’s life I guess. You will have fun and then the fun stops.. then it starts back again. Well, I can’t wait to go back KL again. Not sure when but I hope it will be for a week again.

Wait for me my friends….i’m going home!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

That's what friends are for...

Friends,
It was 10 years ago this month that we met. Time really flies, doesn' it...It feels like yesterday that we've gone out for our late night supper, shopping in Mid Valley and Jaya Jusco in our kereta kancil sewa, our cute buku hutang and many-many more we've shared..the tears and the laughter.

Friends,
It's been an honour to have known you. I feel lucky and thankful for all you've done and given me, and i too hope that i've helped you in anyway that i possibly could.

So Friends..this is to a wonderful 10 years, and many many more 10 years to come!

Thank you for still being my friends.

Love,

Thursday, May 07, 2009

It's been a long time...

Hi ya'll!
It's been a while since i've visited my own site...it's a bit depressing actually to make that statement but i've been busy and lazy :(
Anyway, just to tell you that i've been fine and enjoying my life here in Hanoi. I've been here officially 3 months now (2 months unofficially..) and i think i have 1 more year to go..or maybe more..who knows??

I like the city,i find it very interesting - the people, the food, places i visit...It's been fun but at the same time quite boring for me here, staying alone. I managed to meet some locals who's kind enough to invite me for a drink and some karaoke (oh, i love my karaoke!). Also, i've been taking up guitar lessons..hahaha...it's just my third lesson, so don't expect me to entertain you like a pro in a year's time..might take me more than a year just to get the songs and tune right! old oledi maa...susah mau ingat song note!!!!

And i've been busy collecting DVDs as well. I think i can be called Queen D now. I'm always buying DVDs (10 of them every weekend to be exact!). It's very very cheap - USD 1 per DVD, but i normally get a discount from the owner, regular customer meh!

I have so many plans i want to do when i am here and one of them is to one day tour the whole of Vietnam - from Ha Long Bay(been there twice, amazing weather on a junk boat!), Sapa, Hoi An, Hue, My Son, Nha Trang, Dalat, Mui Ne, Ho Chi Minh (formerly known as Saigon..yeah i know...N.A.M., Tour of Duty!) and Delta Mekong. And i want to do Cambodia as well - Angkor Wat, Siem Riep. I heard the experience in Angkor Wat was fantastic, mystical was the right word i had. *sigh* From the looks of it, i might need a 14 days holiday, just hope my boss does not kick me out of the company when i come back!! :p

Well folks, it was nice to pen down some 'hopes and dreams' i have here....Tune in...stay alive! :p