Allo 29, in advance!

We had a lovely feast in the homeland. The babes and the partners, with baby Kayson. In early celebration of this donkey's birthday.

Lovely ice cream cake

Han and Malcom brought yummy giant Sri Lankan crabs from little red house. Hui and Richmond did great deep fried buns. Jinny and Noven got wonderful ice cream cake (the exact same cake the dearie got moi last year). Moi, i did my roasted lemon rosemary chicken and mango with pomelo (or yang zhi gan lu)

Chix drumstick before roasting

Its a jolly feast alrightz, in the comfort of the homeland. With cute kayson keeping us all entertained. Its a great advance birthday celebration..simple, yet festive..its great having the babes with moi, along with dearie and baby kayson.

Pretty in Pink

Oh, and i really heart the pretties gift the babes got moi.. can't believe moi is turning 29 in a few days time. 9, the last year of my glorious 20s.. urrghh.

Paper Writing

Paper writing or mini project wannabe becomes a daunting task for the newbie without sound knowledge of the existing policies.. especially a topic so vast, so unsubstantive.

Oh wellz. I rather be blogging instead..the timing is so very wrong with the birthday looming and the celebrations planned... aiz..there goes this lovely week.. ;(

Carbon Copies

This is a generation which grown up under the ethos that one needs to study hard to move up in life. Yet, upon getting the requisite degree scroll..life becomes empty. You may not get to choose the type of job that you are passionate about.. you end up doing work for the sake of working and for money. Not really happy, yet not really unhappy because you are already more fortunate than many others..

Sometimes, it takes alot of courage to chase your dreams. Yet, the most pitiful are the ones who never have any dreams to chase. Life is simply living the motions of living. Carbon copies in this society of ours. I think, a blessed person is someone who is passionate about something, whatever that thing may be. Sometimes i wonder, if i had not been realistic in getting the required education, or had done badly enough to fail my exams.. would i be a more happy person chasing a realisable/unrealisable dream?! Like working in the hospitality line or working in the fashion line.. ??! * Ponders* Will i ever find something i am passionate about? This dreamless me..

Wifey cooks: Home-styled Roasted Chicken

We've been wanting to try out roasting meats since we got the oven. So, when there was a rather good recipe which i found online, i decided to try roasting a chicken for our weekend dinner. We got a chicken and some potatoes from the market yesterday with the intention of doing up "Oven Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Chicken". However, this silly donkey subsequently found out that she did not have rosemary for the marinate. Urrghh..

Chicken marinated with lemon zest, salt, pepper, honey, and thyme

Oh well, so i replaced the rosemary with thyme instead as i had a bottle of it in the kitchen and hoped that the substitute would work as well. I also added a bit of honey to the marinate. The chicken was marinated for a few hours before it was popped into the oven for roasting.

Potatoes to be roasted with the chicken

Potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper was placed under the chicken. The entire roasting process took about 80 mins but the finished product was well worth the wait.

Into the oven this goes...

Wifey's roasted chicken, with slightly burned skin.. opps

Overall, the roasted chicken was rather yums. The dearie rates it as a good attempt by the wifey.. which can be further fine-tuned for serving guests. The top part of the roast (chix skin) was a tad over done, but the meat was great. Even the breast meat was juicy, and very tender. The potatoes were quite burnt.. so i would probably twig the cooking time and remove the potatoes from the pan after the first flipping of the chicken. Hee, can't wait to try the recipe a second time, with rosemary instead.. :)

This year's birthday pressie from the dearie

Hee.. the dearie had initially wanted to get moi a bottle of Chanel perfume for the upcoming birthday. Wellz, as the wifey was complaining that she has nothing to wear for work.. and the shop was having a sale ( yah.. i noe, these days i only buy when there's sales.. so auntish.. urrgg).. so.. this became the dearie's pressie for this year's birthday.. many many pieces of clothing.. Thanks dearie.. ;p

Family Dinners

The dearie's family are Teochews. They enjoy their traditional Teochew food like steamed fish, braised goose and cold crab. Coming from a small family, its feels great to have family dinners with the in-laws. Typical dinner outings involves the sis-in-law and her family, the grandmother, uncle and the in-laws.

The Requisite Cold Crab.. *Yums*.

The family enjoys traditional Teochew cuisine, and a favourite restaurant which we usually troop to for festive occasions would be SWA Garden Restaurant. The food is traditional, with an old world charm which is lacking from modern restaurants. The place itself looks like the 60s.. but the place is full to the brim with patrons on the weekends. Reservations are a must. I have been duly induced into the wonders of Teochew food upon joining the family. I must say, the food's great.. especially the cold crab.. fresh steamed fish, goose and the "Orh Ni" or Yam Paste with Pumpkin. The food's best eaten with family. Yums.. just like the meal tonight which is so typical of family outings to the restaurant, or any other good restaurants that does Teochew cuisine.

Trying Kyoho Grapes

Expensive Japanese fruits are quite the rage these days. We've been wanting to try out the momo that looks oh so pretty and prefect in their boxes. And the special musk melons that cost a fortune.

I find it quite fascinating, how fruits can be so expensive and yet so perishable that their worth diminishes with every moment after harvesting. Its like the clock is ticking down. We came across some Kyoho Grapes at Cold Storage when we were shopping after work today. Kyoho Grapes were going cheap at $10 plus.. or rather, cheap by Jappy fruit standards vis-a-vis speciality gourmet supermarkets. A splurge if you compare with other types of grapes.

So, we decided to try the grapes for novelty's sake. I like the sugary sweetness of the fruit with a hint of winey musk. Yums, but a tad expensive.. so its gonna be a very rare occasional splurge.

August In Summary

August is the month moi started a new phase, with a brand new job and entirely foreign portfolio. This newbie is still learning after a month on the job. August is the month of adjustment to full-swing working life, as compared to the laidbackness of July. New environment, new people to be pally with, new beginning career wise. The new journey is long.. with loads to learn and this gal has just began. The goal is to gain experience in the field for mobility. Pronto.

fav seasonal fruit- Duku

Newly discovered passion fruit

August is also the month for fruits. Yah, I am a true blue fruit gal. I just gotta have my strawberries, pineapple, grapes, cherries, raspberries, plums, peaches , lychees and many many more. Moi tried passion fruit for the first time. Yah, i know i am quite a 'swa ku' for a fruit lover.. and the month for 'Duku' or Lansium Domesticum as the fruit is also known as. I am totally addicted to this tropical fruit which is native to the malaysian peninsula and have eaten basket loads (or is it lorry loads) this season. Its a yearly, six-monthly addiction that wans with the end of the fruit season. Just heart the sour-sweetish flesh. I can easily polish off 2-3kg all by moiself. oh man.. this gal's got a self control problem.. *sleepish grin*

Steamboaty Goodness

The bro-in-law is gonna study his masters overseas for a year starting from Sept. He requested for a steamboat dinner coz he's not gonna be back for the new year. So we had steamboat for dinner on Sunday.The mother-in-law is a great cook, and she prepares yummy steamboat with great ingredients. Well.. technically steamboat is not diff to prepare but alot of effort is involved.. plus,she makes the fishballs and green chili stuffed with fish paste herself. I like the fishballs she makes, although I am not a big fan of the item.

It was a great meal.. with the family eating over a long meal. .We usually eat steamboat for the reunion dinner on chinese new year or an elder's birthday. Was great that I get to enjoy my clams and wat nots..plus the sweet broth with kway tiao and bee hoon when the items are all cooked. Totally yums.

Home-made fishballs

Homemade chilli and loads of veg for the steamboat

Its a great way for the family to bond over an inexpensive meal, or rather, its more expensive when eaten at restaurants. Plus, this babe just luvs her soupy meals.. *slurrpps*

clams, crabs, fish slices, pork slices, sotong, prawns, fish balls, stuffed chilli

Can't wait for the next steamboat dinner.. hee, we may end up doing a mini steamboat meal for just the 2 of us.. ;p

Liking Coco

We managed to catch CoCo Avant Chanel yesterday at the movies. Just had to catch the movie coz i am a fan of Audrey Tautou and Chanel Bags.. one of the must have baggies in the wish list of moi.. a Chanel classic flap bag.. *drools* ..

The dearie was a great spot, he sat thru the rag-to-riches-love story-epic of a movie with moi, with nay a complain that the movie is not a genre he likes. I noe he would prefer to be watching jack neo's latest movie.. and yet he choose a movie moi wanted..;p

Audrey was great.. the story of coco was inspiring indeed..the focus of the story cleverly focusing on her early years and the rise of a modern woman ahead of her times. As opposed to her later years and the war period. Boy, an glad we managed to catch the movie on the big screen.

Fruity Luv

I thought the slice of pomelo looked abit like a heart.. it's lovingly peeled by the dear dearie.. many many slices of the sweet citrus fruit for wifey. Bliss is in the simple things he does for moi. The meals he cooks. The little things.

Instant Banana Nut Muffins

Instant Banana Nut Muffins for breakfast tomorrow

Moi has no talent in baking.. so on a weekday nite, instant muffins makes for a simple bake. Add 2 eggs, milk and oil to the premix and mix.. whalah..can be done in 5 mins.. plus 15-20 mins of baking in the oven..although i still wanna come up with a totally home-made yummy banana nut version one day.. :)

Box of Premix

Milk, Oil, Eggs and Premix

Instant Muffins fresh from the oven

High Tea with the Babes

Moi met up with Han and Hui for High Tea at The Regent's Tea Lounge today.. Tits was great to meet up with the babes for girly chats. The babes who share a great portion of my uni years.. the happie years of uni and pre-uni are memories that i cherish the most from the growing up years. With work, family and many other commitments.. we seldom have time to meet up. I so wish we could meet up more often.. Plus, makes good reason to splurge on nice food at great places ;p

Our table

Luv the berries loads

Compared to Rose Veranda and Goodwood Park's Tea Lounge, I like The Regent's ambiance, selection and quality of food the most. Although the selection of Tea is limited compared to Rose Veranda's. Hee Hee.. its definitely my place of choice for High Tea..quiet, and the air con is non too cold. A great Sat with the babes.

Drools...

Reaching the bag quota with the 2 new baggies purchased courtesy of the 2 dear gal pals. Well made bags are indeed alot more affordable overseas. Still in leather crave as well. Hee Hee.. but i can still drool over pretty baggies rightz?! Not even in the league of the coveted Birkins and 2.55s as yet.. (*Hints* to the dearie..)

• Liking for Balenciaga Bags recently. Giant Work Bal, in pink some more.

• Bayswater Red Patent leather bag from Mulberry although i dun mind trusty black too.

Boring Classics... to withstand the test of time.. ;p

New Found, Long Lost Friend

The workplace has a practise of introducing new staff with a pic of the newbie. Someone saw silly old moi and found me familiar..Wha Hoo..its a long lost primary schoolmate of moi's. We used to be really great fres.. who just kinda lost touch after going separate ways in sec school. She went to a better sec school while moi languished at a neighbourhood school.. and we found new fres and moved on with our lives.

In the span of 16 years that we've lost touch.. we've bum into each other like probably only once in Uni..and we've both gotten married and the fre already has a baby boy as well. Obviously we've changed and grown.. yet, we had been close fres when we were so very young. Life is quite funny at times.. Lines that cross can become parallel and yet converge together again. And oh..not to mention that she's gotten herself the same "ang moh" name that i did, in the exact letterings some more.. so we have quite similar email addresses.. ;p

We met up for lunch today and caught up with each other. She's also fairly new, having been in the workplace only 5 months before moi. We're from different sub units.. one floor apart. Its great to have one more lunch kaki.

Most Week Nights

The mum-in-law is a great cook. Most alternate weekday nites, we troop down to her place for dinner. Chalkful with healthy vegs and great soup..plus a glass of fresh fruit juice which she rustles up for us. Add in the ultra cutez nephew and niece..both of whom are in the really cutesy phase.. and the equation is complete. Its really bliss to be able to play with them.. the simplicity of their actions.

Hee, by the time we get home at night.. its about 9 plus 10.. Totally conked out.. no wonder we are quite sleep deprived at the end of the work week ;p

Another Fav Meal of Moi

This has been a great foodie weekend. We went for dinner at another of my fav restaurants for dinner.. i simply heart the xinghua Pu Tien "Lu Mien" or "Lor Mee" from the restaurant. One of the reasons is coz its a soupy noodle dish that feels rather home cooked with rich broth.

"Pu Tien Lor Mee"

And, the chili.. which is spicy-sourish fiery perfect condiment to the meal. Moi is a chili lover.. and the chili is simply wonderful yums. Perfect with the Lor Mee.

My fav.. the chili..opps

We also quite like the deep fried Tenggiri Fish and Drunken Cockles. If its just the dearie and moi eating, we normally order the fried Tenggiri fish with a bowl of Lor Mee.. or Spinach with salted egg, century egg in stock with the Lor Mee. Our kind of simple meal which just makes moi a happie gal.. Tons of good chili with the food.. that's why moi cannot be a foodie..coz it usually feels like i am eating the chili instead.

Deep Fried Tenggiri Fish

Drunken Cockles and Wintermelon in orange juice

Dessert to end the meal. Yam Paste

This round, mommie dined with us.. so we ordered more items. The wintermelon in orange juice was alrightz. The yam paste dessert was also good. Its been a happie weekend for moi. :)

Yummy Promfret Steamboat

One of my favourites of all time is soupy food. Moi is contented having soupy food anytime..so its no surprise that "Fishhead Steamboat" is one of my fav casual-can eat-veri often kinda comfort food. There is a rather good stall at the Tampines Round Market that sells decent "Fishhead Steamboat". We pop by quite often for the steamboat.My favourite is the promfret steamboat. The fish is sliced into thin sashimi-like slices for you to add into the boiling hotpot. The fish bones are thrown in way before by the cook to richen up the broth.

Broth with veg, fried yam and fish bones

Fresh Promfret slices for cooking in the hotpot

The steamboat itself ranges from $25 to $35 and onwards. I guess the price diff is for the size of the fish. The soup base is sweet with the essence from the fish bones, fried yam , vegs and wat nots that the vendor throws in. The fish broth gets sweeter as you add in the fish slices and there's unlimited top up of the precooked broth . Hee hee, one of my fav hawker centre meals.. I can have many bowls of the soup.

Our meal of Fish steamboat with Satay and Kangkong. Yums

Add in some small dishes like chili kangkong and satay.. and the entire meal is completed. Ha ha.. moi truly have an old auntie's taste buds as the dearie says.

Should I ??

Hmm... still deliberating.. should I order this??!! gossip girl season 2..

Its gonna be available via Amazon on 18th Aug. Aizzzz..i so wanna save the moolah..

Urrghh..Pricey Ride..

Mummie came by the office to wait for moi after work today. We took a cab back to mum's place in the West to pick up her car for the ride back to my place. This differs from my usual routine of train riding home. Urrgghh... we were struck in the peak period jam for the longest time. The cab fare was a hefty amount with the surcharges added in. Moi has not ridden on jam-struck cabs during peak period for the longest time that I've forgotten just how fast the meter jumps. Arrh. Wow.. i have just been duly reminded..the sardine-packed but mostly reliable ( minus the occasional disruptions) trains will do.. for the moolah can surely be lunch money for a week, which is alot..aiz. heartpain for mommie, who paid for this hefty cabby ride of ours.