Pakistani Cuisine

(WILL, PICTURES AHEAD!)

Writing about the steamboat + uploading the pictures from my camera reminded me of the night of Pakistani cuisine that I had in Bruce Hall the other night on the 19th of April.

Huda, a Pakistani, who hangs out with the Malaysians and Singaporeans in Bruce, was our head chef. Suba, a Malaysian, helped her out. We had scrumptious and yummylicious Pakistani food. An appetizer, main courses and even dessert. All of which I have no idea of their names, and thus my not listing them out.

Pictures can speak a thousand words, so here they are.

On one side of the table.

On the other side of the table.

The appetizer = salad.

The lebanese bread. Good stuff.

Mmmmmm...looks yumm huh? Well, I had a fun time, and so did the rest of the 15 or so people there, I'm pretty sure.

Side note: Lagged post. Sorry!

Hot Yummy Steamboat

Mmmmm....hot steaming steamboat slap right during the cold nights of autumn.

Imagine a big group of people huddling over a pot of steaming soup.
Imagine yummy steamboat stuff inside the pot.
Imagine the chilli dips.
Imagine the enjoyment of slurping down all these foods.
Imagine the hot steaming food entering your tummy, providing you with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

Aaaaahhhhh...the bliss!

My darling Brandall jie jie cooked us all a steamboat dinner. She basically prepared the pots and the soup. Both me and her went to buy the ingredients for it. People come. Makan, makan, makan. Talk, talk. Makan, makan. Talk. Makan. Talk. Makan.

Wow, such an eventful night huh!

And so much uncooked leftovers, now I have an entire freezer full of food. Grandma's going to kill me when she comes back tomorrow. Sigh.

Side note: Really short and not sweet post. Don't know how to elaborate about a steamboat dinner.

Polka Dot Fever!

Went shopping with darlings Hong Yin, Ai Lin and Kelly yesterday. Ai Lin and Hong Yin planned on clothes shopping and all, whilst Kelly and I were basically pretty broke and trying to save money. So as they both were going through clothes, so were Kelly and I.

But you see, there was a huge difference. Hong Yin and Ai Lin were looking for clothes they actually liked and would buy. Kelly and I? Very different. We first went around the store critisicing all the ugly and hideous outfits, and then I had a great idea. Why not we try them on?

And try them on we did. Ugly, hideous, monstrous. All of them. And I wonder, is polka dots in season? Cause they look horrendous, and they're all over!

Horrendous top after horrendous top, I tried. And took plenty of pictures! Ahahahah...yes I was a bit siao. Just a little la. But hey we had plenty of fun, and that's what matters.

Side note: Pictures to be up soon.

Anzac Day Dawn Service

The Anzac Day ceremony is held every 25th of April to commemorate the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

I was surprised at my own enthusiasm to attend the Dawn Service this morning. As the name suggests, it was held at dawn. Having slept at 5-ish the past week or so, I figured that I wouldn't be sleeping by the time I needed to get up for the service, but I ran out of things to do during the spare time waiting for 4am, so I decided to take a short nap.

Waking up at 3.45am, I was so tired and so sleepy, I just wanted to get back to sleep. But I said to myself, hey if I'm going to do this, I might as well go all out for it. So I did. Ai Lin's alarm rang at 4am. When she woke up, she asked, "Remind me why I'm doing this again.", I replied, "Cause we're siao and have nothing better to do.". Which is technically true, the "siao" part that is. Hehehehe...

When we got there, to the War Memorial where the Dawn Service was held, we felt that our waking up and attending the service was very worth it. It was so wowifying to see so many semangat people, there were more than 25000 people there. It was also such a beautiful sight, what with the sky still dark and lots of people were holding candles.

Ai Lin and I decided to get candles and poppies too, one to join in the 'fun', two to warm ourselves up with what little heat the candle will produce. Oh yes, it was freezing cold. The temperature must have been somewhere between 0 and 5 degrees. I was all prepared with a beanie and gloves, and still I was shivering.

Anyway, the service started off at 5.30am with a welcome speech, followed by a hymn and wreathlaying, the Anzac dedication, the playing of "The Last Post", a one minute's silence, a poem entitled "In Flanders Fields", the ode, prayers, another hymn, an address by the Chaplain Air Commodore who is also the Principal Air Chaplain for the Anglicans, yet another hymn, a benediction and a reveille and ended with the national anthem. (Yes, I was just summarising from the program booklet. I do not have such a fantastic memory.)

The entire service ended in about half an hour. Not too lengthy and boring yet long enough for people to get the message across and to honour the sacrifices of the soldiers.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. I got to learn about some of Australia's past and learnt about the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought for their country's freedom. I also had the rare chance to see Australia at dawn *wink*.

Awed And Inspired

I was watching The Amazing Race (Season 9 Episode 8: Here Comes The Bedouin!) just now, and my admiration for BJ and Tyler was just so huge that it consumed me. (NOTE TO SAM: Don't read this post until you've watched Episode 8 if you don't want me to spoil the surprise for you.)

For those who don't follow this series, I shall first explain what the show is about. For those who have been following or have watched or heard of The Amazing Race before, you may skip this paragraph. Anyway, like I was saying, I will try to explain what The Amazing Race is about. The Amazing Race is a reality show that showcases 11 teams of 2 people to run a race around the world, and in the race they have to sought out clues and work on different sorts of activities to get to the next clue and to the next pit stop. Teams who arrive last at pit stops may get eliminated or be punished by having their possessions taken away. That basically wraps the show up.

BJ and Tyler are these two best friends in this season of the show. They are two of the most whacky hippies ever. They have a goofy attitude and have the word TTOW and a froggy hat as their good luck charms. They are two hilarious dudes who enjoy travelling.

But the thing that awes and inspires me about them is their positive outlook on life, their perseverance till the very end and the strong bond of friendship that they share.

Those who know me well enough would know that I too have a pretty positive outlook on life. I take things slow and easy and never stress myself out over petty things. Most of the time, that is. This is because I believe that positivity and optimism is the way to go and the way to be. I mean, a day is a day, and you are the one to choose whether to enjoy that day happily or to live that day in a down mood. But one should remember that one the day has passed, it is gone and never to come back.

At this one point in the show, BJ was supposed to search among 117 mounds of sand in search of one of 6 hidden shuwas (a spicy dish that the team is going to have for dinner). He was one of the first people to be there to start digging and spent more than an hour digging in the heat. The rest of the teams came and went and he was still searching hard for it. I was on the verge of tears when he still failed to find any and the rest have proceeded to the finish line. (Yes, I am a bit emotional when watching touching scenes.) I was crossing my fingers and praying that he'd find it (though, in reality, the event happened way before I watched it). And all these time, Tyler was being very supportive and saying encouraging words. When he finally found it, I was so happy! A few drops of tears streamed down my face. I was so touched. And Tyler was so appreciative of BJ's efforts and hugged him and all. I just went like "Awwww...".

And when they reached the finish line, they were last, naturally. But then Phil (the host) was like, "...this is not an elimination round..." I was screaming for joy! Well, possibly the producers had to get together quickly to decide to not eliminate them to increase ratings and all, but hey I'm good with that decision, I'm not complaining.

SOOOOOO, my point is just that I look up to them very much. (Hope they don't disappoint me in future episodes.) And I wish to be just as carefree and optimistic as they are.

Also, since I'm on the point of The Amazing Race, I just wanted to salute all those old couples who have the guts and stamina to take part and compete, like Fran and Barry in this season. I mean, they were even first at the pit stop! Woohoo! Go, Fran and Barry!

SALUT, BJ AND TYLER!

SPORK Craze

What the SPORK? Oh yeah! Spork is the in-thing. At least it is for Ai Lin, Will and I currently

For those who are totally clueless as to what a SPORK is, let me give you a brief history. My own version of it, that is.

Humankind created spoons and forks to enable human beings to eat more civilised-ly (what a sporky word!). Spoons help with the eating of soups and rice. Forks help with the poking of food and the eating of noodles.

And then one day a person thought to him/erself, "I'd give a hand to be ambidextrous! (Joke reproduced from Will). But, how am I ever to choose between a spoon and a fork? That would be a very hard decision to make. And by the time I make up my mind, I might as well have gobbled down the food with my hand. But wait. What if I...? What if I make this instrument, this utensil, which combines both a spoon and a fork? Then I can be ambidextrous and a creator at the same time! Woots!"

And so s/he proceeded with his/her genius plan and came up with SPORK!


"Why spork? Why not foon?", I ask myself. Well, it's English. And no one really knows how these words form. Like, why skorts and not skhirts (since shirts is out).

After reading this and feeling like you're never going to get back those wasted few minutes, SPORK me why don't you, you spoiltSPORK!

Side note: Post written in a very high state. Excuse any hurt that I may have caused.

To Test Or Not To Test

What a whacky title for the post. Aaaannyywaay, it's so early in the morning I figured I shall let the world know what food I indulged in a few hours ago. (Hmm...I seem to be putting up what goes into my tummy quite a lot...)

So, the MSO (Malaysian Students' Organisation) committee had a taste-test session for our Malam Kenduri (an annual event organised by the society). Actually, "taste-test" is more of an excuse for us to indulge in good food. Good Malaysian food, that is.

And on the menu today:
Starters
Pappadum
Kerabu Glass Noodles
Main Course
Chicken Rice
Hainanese Chicken
Lemon Chicken
Kangkung Belacan
Rendang Ayam
Nasi Himpit with Kuah Kacang
Dessert
Kuih Batik wannabe
Drink
Air Bandung

Woots! Fattening...especially the Kuih Batik.

For those who have zilch idea what that is, allow me to elaborate. Kuih Batik is made up of nestum, milo, cocoa powder, butter, sugar, condensed milk and egg. When you have such a combination, all you have to imagine is how they all make this wondrous mix and how fast your arteries get clogged with its consumption.

And as I am writing this, all these food are digesting and turning into layers of fat to prepare me for winter. Joy.

Resurrected External Hard Disk Drive

Yes! It is alive and working very hard! After 3 days of pengsan-ing. Weird though, my HDD always jumps back to life every time I bring it to Wen Sern to have a look. EVERY TIME. Well, it's just the second time. But yeah, it's the second time it pengsan-ed. And second time it worked when I brought it over to him.

Seriously. I don't get it. The last time, I brought it over to him after one day. This time, I figured, I can let it rest and sleep and wake it up the next day. NO...doesn't want to wake up. Wait another day. STILL don't want to wake up. Let's be patient and give it YET another day. WUAH tak mau wake up lagi. WEN SERNNNNN!!! And to the doctor I brought it. And connect connect...WUAH PIANG work eh!

Hmm...does Wen Sern's comp have special digital pheromones that makes my HDD roar and jump back to life? Or does HIS HDD have the digital pheromones, what with all the prawns inside...This is something to ponder over. Hmm...

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Well, I'm not over my obsession. But I guess my mom's birthday has a higher priority than my obsession over an ugly-looking blog in IE. True, she won't be reading this anytime soon. Nor anytime in the future. But still, if there are people dedicating things to dead people, I can dedicate this to someone who won't be reading it.

Mommy, you brought me into this world (with some help from Daddy too, of course!). You showed me life, love and everything else. You taught me the simplest things such as talking and walking.

Sure you were strict, and during those times when you were exercising your mom power, I was cursing and hating you for doing those to me. But then I realise, without those, I probably am not who I am today. I won't be the person my friends know. I won't be the person my relatives know. I won't be the person you know. And I thank you so much for making me who I am today.

I relish the times we spent chasing Chinese serials, or Korean serials. Racing home so that we can make it in time for the 6pm show. Our fighting over the TV for our different shows showing at the same time. Our shopping trips. Our outings to the furthest places just in search for a yummy bite to eat. Our jokes and laughs about your patients and about your boss. Your interest (and a lot of other people's too) in getting me thinner. Our diets together. Our LRT rides. Oh so many good memories...

MOMMY, I MISS YOU SO MUCH AND I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART! Oh...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Can Someone Help Me? Please?

I am overly obsessed that my blog looks horrendous in IE. I can't stop obsessing about the fact that many people use IE and view my blog in such a horrifying state. Please please please help me reset it to the way it's supposed to appear. Or at least the way it appears in my Firefox. Teach me the way, o wise anyone. Please. I cannot stand it looking so ugly. I sendiri also very mo mien to look. Argh!