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Hubby and I had an early Valentines dinner today…home cooked by yours truly (ok, he did do all the washing up *grin*)…

We had:

Salad: Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, Thousand Island dressing

Main course: Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Prosciutto

Dessert 1: Pineapple Cheesecake

Dessert 2: Hazelnut Praline Semi-Freddo

And dear hubby had a surprise Valentine’s day pressie for me…a lovely card and an adorable teddy bear bracelet from Tous…muaks!! I loved it so much that I insisted on wearing it immediately…..=) It’s kiddie-size though…*grin*. And my present was the shirt I bought from Raoul on Saturday…yes yes, quite last minute of me….=))

Other than preparing dinner, I also tried making London Almond Cookies. It’s one of my favourites…if you haven’t tried it before (but I’m guessing most people probably have and didn’t know the name, like me!), it’s a cookie with a biscuit base and an almond in between and melted chocolate on top. It’s quite a bit of work rolling the dough around the almond, then spooning the chocolate sauce into each paper cup…especially for me…not too patient, you see!!

And now, it’s off to a nice long shower and 2 hours of the finale of Amazing Race 6!

Back from Teluk Intan/Ipoh….what a long and arduous journey it was….1 and a half hours to Bidor, 1 and a half hours to reach Teluk Intan, 1 and a half hours from Teluk Intan back to Ipoh. Next day: 3 hours in total…to and from from Ipoh to Teluk Intan. My butt was literally numb.

It’s a long way home….

On the bright side, we watched Constantine on the first day of Chinese New Year at Ipoh. Mmm…Keanu Reeves. Almost (but not quite) made up for the long journey, one long reunion dinner and one extremely long Chinese New Year lunch and visit. As I have never read the comic, Hellblazer, all I could gather from reviews was that John Constantine was portrayed rather differently from the character in the comic….no big deal for a non-hard-core fan like myself. I don’t really want to give much of the story away…so I’ll just leave it as: it’s a cool show, two thumbs up…and need I say it again? Keanu Reeves!!!!

Managed to test drive the Peugeot 307 on Thursday. The pick-up seemed a tad bit slow, and the brakes are pretty sensitive…one tap and you can literally feel the brakes locking in. It’s not a bad thing…just something I have to get used to if I get this car. Within that short time, the only thing I could think of that I didn’t like was that the rear window is pretty small and quite an impediment to getting a clear view of the cars behind. Am now waiting to test drive the Honda Jazz…it’s really come down to a choice between these two cars.

In case you’re wondering…what’s the catalyst behind me getting a new car after living with my Toyota Corolla for the past 4 years…? Well, hubby may be changing jobs (still in Citibank, but different department), so we might have to start driving separately since our working hours will be different…ie. he’ll have to work late…haha…=) The downside to this is that I’m really gonna miss our morning and after work journey together. Mornings in the car are spent complaining about how sleepy we are…and the after-work journey home is spent reviewing our day at work….*grin*. Jokes aside, it’s really some private time, and I treasure it very much. and despite what many people think, we hardly have time to talk to each other in the office even though we are working in the same department. But it’s a good career move for him, so little sacrifices for bigger things to come, hopefully! =)

Friday was a pretty full day for us. A colleague at work had an open house…and we decided that we should, for once, arrive right on time. Turned out that we were the earliest….gosh, how embarrassing! =) But we did get a private tour of her lovely house. Stayed for about 45 minutes, then went off to PJ Hilton to meet some uni mates for lunch. Most of them were Eric’s flatmates in Warwick and my mum’s ex-college students….and now, some of them are fathers…or fathers-to-be! How fast time passes! Discounting a rowdy bunch of uncivilized guests at the table nearby, it was a really nice gathering….many thanks to WE for organizing! =))

Salmon Yee Sang:

Sharks Fin Soup in Wintermelon:

Dinner was at Noble House with my parents…we had Yee Sang, Sharks Fin Soup in Wintermelon, Spare Ribs in Red Wine Sauce, Beancurd with Spinach and Mushrooms, Fried Yau Mak and Eric and my dad split the rice with waxed meat (I snitched a few pieces of lap-cheong…yummy!). I was really really stuffed by the time I finished the soup, so I couldn’t really enjoy the ribs and beancurd. And I had to forgo my plans for dessert too…darn!

After dinner, we joined a gambling session at WS’s house. Had a good time playing blackjack and in-between…all the way till 3am! We both left a teeny bit richer, though I think the organizer probably went to bed with a smile on his face and a pile of money at his bedside table…=)))

Hubby is now back in Ipoh attending a friend’s wedding…so I’m all alone…=( My parents dropped by for dinner…I made roast chicken, and I had a really good chat with my mum after that. After they left, I was still feeling quite energetic, so I decided to make pineapple cheesecake….=) Just popped it into the fridge to chill, hopefully it’ll taste nice. I’m planning to cook dinner for hubby tomorrow….a pre-Valentine dinner, so to speak….so if all goes well, we’ll be able to have the cake for dessert. Also bought a shirt from Raoul at Midvalley Megamall today as a Valentine’s day pressie….hope he’ll like it!

And now, it’s off to a nice long shower and a comfortable bed….nites!

Utter bliss!

Tomorrow’s Chinese New Year. This evening, hubby and I will be travelling to Teluk Intan to attend the reunion dinner, and tomorrow morning, we’ll be going back to Teluk Intan from Ipoh for the traditional Chinese New Year lunch with his relatives. While it’s tradition that the girl follows her husband, I can’t help but question: why is that? Does my parents, grandmother and relatives become less important the day I get married? I’m not one to subscribe to the so-called saying that when a girl marries, she leaves her family, etc. What utter nonsense!! My family remains equally important, and in fact, even more so because I get to see them less.

As you may have guessed, I’m not a big fan of Chinese New Year…memories of getting stuck in traffic jams on the way back to Penang (my parent’s hometown), the extremely hot and sticky weather, overly loud CNY songs blaring over the radio, sitting obediently to listen to relatives telling me how much I’ve grown…sigh…but when I attended the reunion dinner at Teluk Intan during the last two years, I couldn’t help but miss being with my parents on CNY eve and eating my grandmother’s black soya sauce chicken and steamed fish, and the traditional ice cold cup of longan afterwards despite all my earlier complaints. I miss the familiar faces of my cousins and aunties and uncles. It’s really different when you are among….well, not strangers, but not really your own family either. And I wonder if my parents miss my presence? After all, I’m their only daughter, and even though they don’t seem to put much emphasis on CNY as well, I do think that they would like to have me around.

Well…to those who are travelling back to their hometown, have a safe journey. To those who will be in KL…lucky you!! Enjoy the empty and traffic jam-less roads!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai, everyone! May the Year of the Rooster (which officially started on Feb 4th actually) bring you luck, prosperity, love and everything good!

5 days since my last post…..5 pretty boring days.

Highlights:

Wednesday + Thursday

Work in the morning, Bazi at night! Can finally write the 22 Chinese characters…10 for the Heavenly Stems, 12 for the Earthly Branches…feel really pleased with myself! Bought a new plant to put on my table at the office. It apparently changes colour as it grows. Ii have really non-green fingers though….=) Also got a big bag of guava from TI who was at Bidor on Tuesday…thank you!!!!

Friday
Lunch with TI, KC, AL and A at Bongsen @ KLCC. KC, AL and A ordered the same thing….some glass noodle seafood salad. It seemed to be abit Thai for a Vietnamese restaurant….so some chilli padi (bird’s eye chilli…small and potent!) in the salad was to be expected. ALOT of chilli padi was not! Take a look below…the plate on the left belonged to AL, the bottom right belonged to A and the top right belonged to KC. You would think that at the very least, it’ll be the same amount per plate…! Talk about inconsistency! And that’s not all…I ordered rice paper roll and chicken salad, ate half of both dishes and asked the waiter to pack the remaining half for my teatime snack.

When we asked for the bill, I asked the waitress to bring my remaining packed portions as well. Here’s roughly what happened:

Waitress went to, presumably, the kitchen.
Waitress ran out and approach waiter (the one I asked to pack the food) and began gesturing frantically
Waitress and waiter walked off.
Waitress brought bill over, TI handed over her credit card.
Waiter brought bill back, no sign of my leftovers.
AL asked: “Where’s the takeaway?”
Waiter said “What takeaway?”
I said “The food I asked you to pack.”
Waiter looked puzzled.
I explained “The rice paper roll and the salad. I ate half and asked you to pack the remaining half.”
Waiter replied “Oh…it has been thrown away. I thought you didn’t want it anymore.”

WHAT?!?! Grrr….

I gave him a mean stare “So…how? What are you going to do about it?”
Waiter kept on explaining to me that he has thrown it away.
I kept reminding him that I asked him to pack it…hey…wasn’t gonna let him off so easily. After all, I’ve already paid for my food!

Finally, another waitress came up and said they’ll make another portion for me. But they got it wrong…giving me a full portion of the rice paper rolls, but no salad. Sigh.

Dinner at Delicious @ Bangsar Village. Never again. Mushroom soup with tons of pepper…what the?!?! Totally rendered the whole soup undrinkable. Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and basil. ONE leaf of basil was all I got. Hubby’s chicken dish thingy gave him a tummy ache that very night. BAN!!

Saturday

Golf lessons in the morning. Looks like my swing has mutated into something quite ugly, so R had to spend some time correcting me. After that, most of my shots were pretty ok. Met our office colleague, CY there too…surprised he could get up so early!! Hubby and I stayed back after our lessons to watch (and disturb) CY…and we decided to have lunch together. Went back, took a quick bath, and out we went. Ended up having lunch at a Japanese restaurant @ Bangsar Village…just can’t remember the name. Anyways, there’s only one there. Their set lunch is pretty cheap…RM18 for a Chicken Teriyaki set which comes with the standard rice, miso soup, pickles and fruits. Anyways, I opted for a Gindara Teriyaki (portion was way too small!), while hubby went for beef, JL had unagi and CY had sashimi. The three of them also ordered the baby octopus (which i refer to as aliens)…it came very nicely decorated (see above) but apparently had some funny smell. Anyways, lunch was fun…JL and CY are really good company!

Went off to KLCC after that…did, or tried to do, some serious CNY shopping…actually, it’s just my excuse to spend some of my performance bonus…=))) Got a few tops from Naf Naf and MNG. Was trying to buy a new pair of jeans from Levis…tried on a pair of super low straight cut…made my legs looked like twigs, so I asked if they had the flared ones in the same colour. Unfortunately, they did…in super super low. Or rather, super duper low. Did not really want to go around flashing half my butt…so I left the store empty handed. Found a skirt in MNG @ 1 Utama later in the evening though…in the jeans type of material, so was pretty pleased. Dinner was with my parents at Eats. The food’s pretty nice and hubby belanja-ed! =)

Sunday
One and a half hours of yoga in the morning…luckily, the last half an hour was quite relaxing, cause my thigh was already hurting from yesterday’s golf. Watched Saw while eating lunch…it’s quite an interesting show. A bit too gory for my taste, but the storyline was good…and the twist at the end…well…won’t spoil the story for those who have yet to watch it…=)

Made Nestum cookies and sausage buns today…not a really good cooking day actually. My dough for the bread was too sticky, must’ve gotten the proportions wrong somehow (I halved it…I think I added too much water!)…it was sticking all over and driving me nuts! Burnt the first batch of Nestum cookies, broke one of my beater sticks cause I was too lazy to cut the butter into smaller chunks, made a big mess in the kitchen. Sigh. But luckily, the sausage buns turned out well and the second batch of cookies were ok. Will post the recipes up soon.

As of now, practically every part of my body is aching. Either from golf, or yoga, or kneading the sticky dough. On the bright side…(there’s always one if you search hard enough…)…my headaches seem to be getting better! Yayy!! =))

I hope during the few days of CNY, I can take some time to pen down things that I really want to write in my posts…it’s becoming too much of a journal nowadays…=)