Wednesday, November 29, 2006
bored~~
nothing to blog abt coz no life~~ hv been doing ot even on sat.. also sianz to touch pc when i reach hm, wait become blind ;p
maybe will hv something to blog abt after attending all those weddings in the next 2 wks?
wld also go check out the new ikea round the block opening tomolo (wierd itz opening on a thursday instead of wkend. must be a very auspicious day that day :P).. quite excited to go check out the new store coz the other ikea is so far west that i've only been there once. planning to get things for my room :)
on the other hand, some updates on chatuchak fr one of the online news website..
Chatuchak Sunday Market is still crowded though some parts have been closed down
Merchants at the Sunday Market in Chatuchak area still carry on their businesses though some of them are unable to operate their stalls yet. The market is still crowded even though some sections are halted due to the landowner’s notice. Thanasarnsombat Pattana Company has already posted a notice dated October 4, 2006 showing the right of possession of the Sunday Market which was leased by the company from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The notice stated all merchants and retailers in the Sunday Market must move out from Chatuchak as from March 31st this year. As for the side of the unfortunate merchants, they had gathered and waited for parties responsible for solving problems occurred in the market, to discuss and find out the best alternative to enable them to continue their businesses as soon as possible. Meanwhile, tourists and locals still enjoy shopping at the Sunday Market though there are obstacles obstructing the paths because the road in front was invaded by the thugs. Aside from that, both officials and plainclothes police officers from Bangsue station are taking care of the overall security at the market area.
1:00 PM star light star bright... Y
Sunday, November 19, 2006
chatuchak: b4 & after
dad found this article abt chatuchak in one the local chinese newspaper n showed it to me. was pretty shocked at the extent of damage. maybe postponing trip there :(
pic i took when i was there this mar
newspaper article
10:15 PM star light star bright... Y
Thursday, November 16, 2006
"bombed" again!
ARH~~ i cant believe it, i have received another wedding invite today. itz the 4th in a row! the best part is all 4 are in december itself!!!! *faints*
2nd dave & thalia's wedding
4th wanyin's wedding
9th colleague's church in the morning n on the same day nite, kamaliah's wedding
gonna be really poor this december on top of the $$ i'll be spending on x'mas ;p
note to friends... for all others planning to get married, can wait another mth or so more till 2007? :P
9:30 PM star light star bright... Y
Monday, November 13, 2006
KL trip 08-121106
tired... juz got back fr KL yesterday nite but cant take leave today coz hv work to clear. sianz~~
didnt go ard town alot this time round. spent most of the time rotting my time away. didnt buy much things either this time round too.
day 1
reached kl ard 11plus. slept most of the way coz pretty tired hving to rush ard n back hm. didnt even hv time to hv lunch n dinner till the bus stop halfway at the food centre for us to go to loo n makan. managed to hv the famous hokkien mee for supper b4 calling it a nite ;p
day 2 
spent rotting ard in my grandma's kampong catching up with the grand aunts. didnt hv time to go swimming at the river coz aunt wanted to ruch hm to fetch her kids fr sch. too bad the other uncle is not in m'sia oredi, if not he'll def bring us there. must bug my aunts to bring me there if we go back during cny next yr. anyway so relaxing to be wandering ard the kampong during a weekday while everyone else was busy at work ;p
spend the evening @ the neighbourhood mall, selayang mall as usual for some shopping.
grandma's hse. looks small on the outside but really huge on the inside, bigger than my own hse :)
view from grandma's door
road in front of grandma's hse
grandma's little vege farm
relaxing @ kampong coffee shop
grandpa's rambutan tree
more kampong view
century old temple in the kampong
mum n the aunts used to come to this shop hse as kids to make candles to earn a living in the older days day 3
had planned to take the train to town with my parents for a full day of shopping but one of the aunt n her husband were free so they offered to drive us ard so "spoilt" our plans coz difficult to go to diff shopping centres when u are driving unlike public transport. also since dad wasnt feeling well, we didnt go to queue up for the ticks for the link bridge of klcc. only went there in the afternoon to shop ard abit.
the only plus part of the day was driving up to genting for a spin at nite ard 7plus. it was only an hrs journey fr my aunt's hse so we went up for some fresh air ;)... there were alot of pple driving uphill ard that time n even though it wasnt any ph or sch holidays yet. maybe coz it was fri nite n pple were going up for the wkends. havent been there for ard 5-6yrs i think. there were more shops n food outlets at the new 1st world plaza (cant remember the name correctly). the new indoor theme park there was pretty nice too. didnt get to take any rides coz not worth it to buy a tick (those ride all u want type) since it was so late. wandered round with the 3rd aunt n her family while the other aunt n husband n my parents went to the casino. the whole place was really crowded n there were kids on rides even at 10plus. tink the indoor park closes ard 11pm. so basically i went to genting juz for marrybrown fried chicken n fresh air while my bro n his gf went up there juz for coffee the wk b4 ;p
luv the weather! didnt even bring any sweater up ;p 
the fog 
view without flash
view with flash (too much water vapour in the air) 
indoor theme park nice
hotel lobby day 4
finally get to go out on our own, mum didnt come along coz the younger cousins wanted to tag along n those bunch of monkeys are uncontrollable. brought dad round town on the ktm, lrt n monorail with my cousin. 1st stop was jalan petaling. not much to shop or do there. only went there juz for lunch ;p...
jalan petaling
horrid weather over in kl these past few days. it would be really hot in the morning but it'll start pouring in the afternoon and hence we were caught in the rain upon arrival @ jln petaling. didnt know where to find the nice stalls so juz went in one that look decent enough to hv lunch n escape fr the rain. food was so-so onli. went to central mkt to look for some souvenirs on the way back to the monorail stn.
central market
next stop was sungei wang. planned to settle dad in a cafe while we shop ard coz the stuff there were mostly for youngsters but he insisted on tagging along so didnt really dare to shop ard alot coz he was pretty tired by the time we reach there n tink he was pretty bored waiting outside the shops for us. decided to call it a day early n tah bao the famous nando's chickens home for the rest.
unfortunately we had to catch a cab with a psychotic driver home. not only did he look retarded, throughout the whole journey, he was boasting abt how he taught the loan sharks to attack/sabotage pple who dun pay up. tink he was juz talking big coz he doesnt look smart enough. my cousin n i resorted to smsing each other in the back seat while my dad who was usually veri chatty with strangers kept pretty quiet ;p. we even asked the driver to drop us outside the estate near the guard house instead of driving us all the way to the house juz in case :P
day 5
last day in kl... 3rd aunt n her husband brought the whole lot of us out for brunch (yups, more of the famous hokkien mee, which we ate lotsa time during our stay in KL). since our bus was scheduled at 3pm, could really go anywhere else...
took this photo fr the car. batu cave and the huge indian god statue
bus journey hm was pretty nice coz we took the new executive/high class coaches home. wanted to take those with the "stewardesses" but bro couldnt find that particular company at pudu raya so took another company's. the ticks were alot cheaper in m'sia coz u pay ard the same price but in ringgit. we board fr opp times sq which was nice compared to the chaotic pudu raya. seats were all fully extendable n each of us had a mini tv with music/movies option. managed to catch 1 and half movie (didnt hv time for the other half). proz and conz of hving tv. dun hv to watch those horrid thousand yr old movies they normally show but less time for sleep ;p. the air con was also way too cold even for me also ;)
little tv monitor 
watching movies
control panel on the arm of the seat
wat i bought... veri little rite ;p
10:50 PM star light star bright... Y
500 stalls @ chatuchak destroyed!
*sobs*~~ heard the most shocking news on radio juz now. apparently, while i was way in m'sia last wk, ard 500 stalls @ my favourite wkend mkt in bangkok were forcefully demolished! according to internet news sources, 120 men believed to have been sent by a developer who claimed to have leased the land moved in to demolish the stalls at about 4pm and continued until 7pm..
so sad, couldnt find any updates on the situation at the mkt yet. dunno whether it be b still operating when i go there in jan next year *SOBS*~~
6:15 PM star light star bright... Y
Friday, November 10, 2006
blogging from KL...
2nd day in KL... haven gone out for shopping yet so came online to check emails n blog abit. had planned to go to the link bridge at KLCC early this morning but dad wasnt feeling too good so cancelled plans. wld continue with our shopping plans later on.
spent most of day 1 r&r coz went back to the kampong kelumpang to fetch my grandma out to KL area so dat we can bring her along for shopping. so spent most of the day in the kampong areas catching up with relatives n my mum's old neighbours. cant believe how relaxing it was to rot the day away looking at baby chicks queuing up in a line n following their mum ard n trying to take picz of turkeys roaming ard ;p... h/r since my aunt was rushing for time, couldnt go swimming in the river at my grandma's kampong.
cant upload picz yet coz forgot to bring card reader...
10:30 AM star light star bright... Y
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
going kl...
yeah~~ going for short trip to kl with mum n dad to rot n shop shop tomolo evening...
abit rush tomolo coz even though i'm on half day coz hv "appointment" to go to b4 going hm... hope i hv enough time to go hm to change, dun wanna wear office clothes n shoes to kl ;p
gonna be bringing my parents ard to shop in the town area coz my aunt seldom brought us to town, mostly to the shopping areas in the suburbs. planning maybe to ask my cousin to drive us up to genting for a spin. hv not been there for ages...
good chance to escape fr the monsters in the office ;p
1:10 PM star light star bright... Y
Sunday, November 05, 2006
recipe for tiramisu...
3rd attempt turn out to be juz right (according to me n my frenz lah, didnt pass my parent's "sweetness test".. tink must b too much choco ;p)... anyway recipe for my sisters as follows:
tiramisu (serves 6)
ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
125gm mascarpone cheese
1 pack of 12 lady fingers
1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder
200ml whipped cream
100-150gm block of chocolate (dark/bitter sweet type nicer)
1/2 tbsp rum/masala wine/brandy (optional)
steps:
1) grate chocolate into powdery/ small pcs (make sure choco is refrigerated 1st or it'll melt easily when u r grating it). refrigerate until being used later on.
2) whisk the egg and sugar manually until the mixture become fluffy n yellowish (abt 1 min). put mixture aside.
3) whisk the whipped cream (which was initially in liquid form) with the mascarpone cheese until the mixture becomes light n fluffy as well.
4) fold in the 1st egg/sugar mixture into the cream/cheese mixture n blend until the colour is even. place mixture aside.
5) dissolve coffee in water and put aside. (make sure it is concentrated so that u can taste the coffee later on)
6) dip the base of the lady finger into the coffee mixture (dun soak coz it'll become soggy)
7) repeat step 6 and line the base of the container with the lady fingers.
8) pour in the mixture (egg/sugar/cream/cheese) into the container till it juz covers the lady's finger (not too much coz u need to layer a 2nd layer)
9) sprinkle the chocolate powder/bits onto the top of the mixture (to ensure the layers look nice, make sure the sprinkle the chocolate nicely all the way to the side and corners)
10) repeat the layering process fr steps 7 to 9 (normally 2 layers juz nice) (can look at pic of my previous entry to see the layering)
11) cover container up/use plastic wrap to cover up the container and refrigerate (not freeze. normally they say 2hrs but me tink the texture becomes nicer over nite)
12) serve cold :)
sample of mascarpone cheese, comes in tub not in blocks as i thot initially. can be found at carrefour n cold storage. abt $5.90/6.90 for 250gm depending on brands. 
name either lady fingers or boudoirs. can be found at ntuc, cold storage n carrefour. abt $2.75 for pack of 24 or $4plus for pack of 48 (got this at ntuc) like so many steps but once u get used to it, it's actually veri easy one. hv fun trying!
note to cycy, u can share the blog add with mei mei so that she can see the recipe as well ;p
11:50 PM star light star bright... Y
Saturday, November 04, 2006
tiramisu
i hv a new hobby at the moment.... making tiramisu :P
had the urge to try to make tiramisu after seeing this chinese movie call "tiramisu". was not attracted by the storyline but by the part where one of the female lead was showing the other how to make tiramisu. dat was when i realised we didn't need an oven to make tiramisu n being quite lazy, thot it wld save me alot of trouble making it :P
didnt try making it until lately coz the ingredients were kinda hard to get, it took me forever to find the cheese which they specified, which is mascarpone cheese. onli managed to find it at vivo city a few weeks back. then there were the biscuits they require which were lady fingers. nvr heard of them b4, onli knew there veges called lady's finger. my colleague who was really into baking gave me a pack when i mentioned i couldn't find them. funny thing is now that i actually know how they look like, i seem to be able to find the ingredients quite easily at the major ang mo supermarkets ;p
while finding the recipe online, found out that not onli is tiramisu juz an italian dessert, there were even meaning to itz name n history to itz origin. tiramisu means "pick-me-up", i.e. cheer me up (so if anyone needs some cheering up, me can offer to make some for u next time ;p). one of the nicer stories regarding the origins was during WW1, women in northern Italy made these desserts for their men to take with them as they were being sent off to war, presumably to remind them of their love together, as the bitter-sweet taste of the dessert alludes to the perplexing feeling of love itself. Or more practically, they might have believed the high caffeine and energy content of these desserts give their men more energy to fight and help bring them home safely.
h/r there was another less glamorous theory explains that the dessert was a way of salvaging old cake and coffee that had gone cold by using the left over coffee and perhaps some liqueur to moisten the stale cake. The dish was greatly improved by layering it with cream or cream cheese. of coz i prefer the previous explanation :P
anyway had not really seen anyone made it b4 n had no idea which recipe to follow coz downloaded so many fr the internet so juz anyhow pick one which looks easier ;)... was abit unsure how it should turn out, i.e. not even sure how the mixture shd actually look like n stuff so juz anyhow make...
1st attempt. work in progress...
layering the lady fingers
lotsa chocolate which i spent so much time manually grating them ;p
finished pdt 1st attempt turned out to look ok but it was hyper sweet!! even for someone like me who have a sweet tooth felt tha it was way tooooooooo sweet, except for my bro...another thing was this type of tiramisu is not actually a cake but more like some fluffy dessert so it was a mistake to use such a huge tupperware unless u r planning to finish it urself..
luckily onli used half the ingredients to test out. used half the amt of sugar in 2nd attempt which turned out to be nicer but still felt it was abit sweet though n my parents refused to try them of coz ;p
2nd attempt... smaller containers used
nice layers :) going to cycy's hse tomolo so decided to make some for dessert. juz spent the last hr making it. tried using less sugar this time round. hope it'll turn out nice :)
3rd attempt. cant wait to try them so dat i can finalise my recipe
11:30 PM star light star bright... Y
