Christmas Time, Time to Share our Love

Mun and I was initially thinking that since there’s no gift exchange in the office, we should just instead go to a old folks home or the orphanage this year before Christmas. So not knowing where we should head, we went to Jen who is an all time sport when it comes to charity and helping the needy. So decided to join us and we get a few of other colleagues, Kar Wai and Joanne and an ex colleague Mei Hee to follow suit. :D

Jen suggested an orphanage her mom usually go for social work.. guess Jen got that quality from the mother :D So we bought some stationeries and goodies for the kids there and also few senior citizen residing there as well. Can’t really remember the name, Cahaya something, at Permatang Damar Laut, Zon 6, Batu Maung near the Pondok Polis.

Only Mun, Kar Wai and myself manage to make it that morning, cos it’s a weekday morning and 3 of us were on annual leave. When we arrived, there are already many others, a group of Hope Givers, as they called it… there to spend some time with the orphans, to carol and of course to make them happy! These Hope Givers are mainly kids and during the school holidays, hey worked really hard raising fund to get these kids toys, stationeries, and to provide the necessities.  Very noble eh… setting good examples to all… charity begins at home and at young age :D

The home was grateful to have guests coming in to provide and to celebrate with them, they even serve all of us breakfast… they organized games and get them to sit around and sing Christmas songs together..

They came with van-ful or gifts… and it’s very thoughtful of them to visit in prior to chat with the kids, understand their needs and asked them what do they want for Christmas and what do they want to be when they grow up… from there, they will then try their very best to get gifts that suit the respective kids the most… they raised funds by selling cookies and many other stuffs in church, wash cars, clean houses, and loads more. Some of the adults sponsor a kid each… very generous of them…

The girls enjoy taking photographs…. the youngest girl would be Kasturi (the one having her breakfast).. I think she’s 3 or 4, somewhere there… very cute girl with huge eyes and super long eyelashes.. hahaha.. no mascara needed…

Happy kids with their gifts! from board games, to super car with controllers, little bicycles, Nike & Adidas footballs, badminton racquets, doctor & scientist set, and many more….. and that’s Kar Wai, the art teacher.. drawing for the kids with their new stationeries… and mobile phone on the other hand… call from office.. sigh… give us a break laaaaa… call us for what… spoil our day nia… sheesh…

Happy kids, all smiles with their pressies….

Their Christmas tree…. and these 2 are the youngest at the home… Kasturi and if I’m not mistaken, his name is Sakthivel..  so cute…

Before we bid bye bye, took  group photos with some of the kids… end of the day, you get the satisfaction knowing you’ve done a good deed  by making at least someone happy and gave them the sense of belonging. The amount you spent could not beat the smile on these kids’ and senior citizens’ faces…. simply pricesless…

Little Potluck Christmas Dinner & Gift Exchange

There’s no gift exchange in the office this year.. first time ever! Haha.. Maybe it’s because that everyone was clearing their leaves and there’s only half of us or lesser left in the office… So this year we had a little one at Jennifer’s, something like the Christmas eve lunch we had last year at Mizi’s Bistro.

Jen’s living room nicely decorated with Christmas tree and her self made fire place!  Haha… creative eh…. what’s more creative is the fire. :D

Jen prepared Miang Kham, a Thai leaf-wrapped appetizer… basically daun kaduk leaves used to wrap a little bot of each ingredients like roasted coconut shavings and peanuts and , onions, cili padi, ginger, lime and dried shrimps, then with some sweet sauce (Jen uses plum sauce with some honey). Some people use palm sugar with fish sauce, well depends on your own liking :D Wrap in little parcel, into the mouth, and chew. It’s refreshing in a way but not everyone enjoy this appetizer.. perhaps it’s because of the raw greenish taste of the leaves.

She also prepared Vietnamese spring rolls… haha.. very much of an Asian feast that day.. and healthy! Complete with rice papers she bought in Oz during her visit to her brother’s, and ingredients are vermicelli (fat ones), lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, fish cakes, lor bak slices (can use other type of meat dishes) , fresh mint leaves and sauce (Jen uses ground chilis with fish sauce) . Everything is on your own liking and creativity… you can use seafood like shrimps and crabmeat too if you like :D It may look like only little food, but they are so filling!! I had a couple of times in Vietnam Kitchen and they have slightly different ingredients.

Dip the rice paper in hot water to soften it and fill in the ingredients you favour, wrap and yum! The rice paper Jen has was thicker, so we have to dip them in hot water, the ones I had previously in Vietnam Kitchen was smaller and thinner, only need to brush water on it and it’s good to go :D The bigger size ones are actually better and easier to wrap, compared to the small ones where all the ingredients will fall off from the torn rice paper skin.

And I bought pie tee, which I thought the fillings are just so so… i think I’m gonna make pie tee cups for Chinese New Year next year and fill them up with home made sedap jiu hoo char!  yum!

And grabbed some some satays too :D

Mun bought over some mini doughnuts!

  Everyone dig in! Hungry hungry….. Gingerbread house!!

Photo session and gift exchange! Last year we draw names in advanced so we know who we’re getting the pressie for. This year we brought our pressie, stick them with numbers and everyone get to roll the dice for their pressie! Joanne got each of us a pressie too :D very thoughtful of her.. By the tree and fire place…..  At the stairs… :D Leslie had to take the photo, so he sent his wife in… 7 angels.. muahahahaha.. only few of us but we certainly enjoyed ourselves.. thanks to Jen for organizing… else it’s gonna be a boring Christmas this year… Cos I stayed at home whole day during Christmas day and it’s so hot outside!

Oh ya… went to hard Rock at night and i think this is the biggest tree I can find there… Shocking Rocking Pinkmas!

My Christmas gift this year :DFrom gift exchange, and thoughtful gifts from friends…..haha.. ok.. that little bath gels I bought myself… too cute to resist… n Mun gave me a knitted Santa with pockets full of sweets… I put it in the office.. so no photo of it :D

Bro’s back from his 3 months internship/training in Sheraton Langkawi, so came back with chocs!! so cheap there! like half the price here!! too bad he could not find rum & raisin Ritter for me…    And this morning, was awaken by Codie’s barking…(that’s he’s reaction when he hears loud unfamiliar noises, like firecrakers, fireworks, thunder) then I heard Jingle bells playing on the road…  looked out my window and saw a music band marching along the road playing songs… Saw the banner, and they are the Divine Land Marching Band  of Falun Dafa. 

And now, back to reality, it’s a Sunday evening and I’m not happy already! Am already feeling the bluess… Go figure…

Merry Christmas! woof~ woof~

from a confused doggie…. *mommy, i think i’m Santa’s reindeer~

Happy Nickmas! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Hahahaha... i cannot stop laughing no matter how many times i watch this clip! Cute! Jingle Jingle!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone!
Have a blessed and joyous day with family and loved ones!

Happy Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice) Festival 2009!!

And oh yes, I did not go home again this year, i felt bad, enough said :(

This year i got 2 packs of tang yuan to eat… a good friend dropped off one container with 2 angku-s despite her busy schedule… she must be worried I don get to grow one year older, one year wiser :P Then dear brought me a pack too… thanks heaps… time passed real fast this year.. i felt like I’ve just had tang yuan during winter solstice not long ago but no………. it’s one year already… OMG! If next year I don’t go home again, I’ll get them to come instead lar :P (celaka right, me tsk tsk tsk)

J.Co Donuts, Queensbay Mall

I’m back after long being missing in action! Have been really busy with work and the internet connection sucks bad time! I have so many posts pending…. sigh..

Anyways, J’Co donuts finally hit Penang’s shore, with their outlet in Queensbay Mall. And at least it’s not like in KL where the line is so long I usually couldn’t be bothered to wait…

Finally got the taste of it and hm.. I prefer it more than Big Apple’s. But I still love Krispy Kreme! Many said it’s sweeter, but I feel that all doughnuts are sweet… which are not? perhaps someone should come out with healthy doughnuts, high fibre, whole meal, wholegrain doughnuts with alfalfa, wheatgrass, vegetable & fruit toppings, low/no sugar! Really one sad doughnut!

We all deserve a little bit of indulgence sometimes. Hehe… Personal favourite would be the one with the almond flake… the doughnut is soft topped with crunchy almond flakes! yum!

Plenty more to try from… they even have some yoghurt ice cream something… can’t recall… haha.. and they have baby doughnuts too!!! will try them next time!

Depressed Codie (Jacky) Boy

Back from the vet... Codie got infection urm... somewhere private... sigh... poor boy is depressed now... check out his new accessory...

Lok Lok at Pulau Tikus Market, Penang

Lok lok is basically food  on skewers where you dip in boiling pot of stock to cook it and then savour it with your favourite sauce, mostly satay/peanut sauce, and few other different chili sauce. Some even have sweet/hoisin sauce. Very similar to the satay celup in Jonker Street Malacca, except that it’s not being celup-ed into satay sauce.

There are infact many lok lok stalls in Penang but this is usually the packed one. It’s not because it’s the cheapest or taste better, but perhaps it’s because everything is laid on the table and they will replenish the ones finished and the variety of different items, from fish balls to seafood, meat balls to sausages, vegetables and many many more…

See for yourself… hebat or not? :D I like it this way.. more convenient… rather than have to stand up and go get your choice of skewers from the stall… back to your seat.. or stay by the little truck and everyone fighting to dip into the small pot.. here… everything is in front of you…

Variety of skewers… pricing at average of MYR1.00 per stick. Dip it in the pot of boiling stock until it’s cooked, served with sauce of your choice… but be careful… it’s piping hot!

They serve fresh oysters too… at MYR2.60 each..

Little oysters skewers, cockles, cuttlefish with convolvulus, ham, fish balls, deep fried wantons, broccoli, mantis prawns meat, Taiwanese sausages with few different sauces to choose from, and you can also order other hawker fares from other stalls… go check them out :D

Glutton Square (2nd Street), Sg Petani

To many staying in Sungai Petani, “Jee Kay” (2nd Street) or “Hao Jiak Kay” (Glutton Square) as we called it, is somewhere we are all familiar about… somewhere we have been for hawker food since we were young! I remembered that when I was little, my defaulted order was always the wanton noodles… one thing is because, I am a very shy person.. I don’t dare to go to any stall and place an order… so whatever my siblings eat, I’ll follow suit… so I don’t have to go make an order… mom once threatened me if I do not go order myself, then fine, be it that way, let me starve then! gosh… I was so upset, I forced myself to order the food, and walloped everything (I usually don’t eat the vege and the pickled chili but i downed everything that night), and say no word at all…  silent tantrum… now to think back… what’s the purpose i did that.. siao right? My mom would be so happy I did not waste anything… haha..  kids~

Anyways, besides plenty of hawker fares to choose from, it actually brings back a lot of great schooling memories… I used to hang out there for tea with my school mates, my babes and other friends from different schools for makan and chit chats…. missing the great times a lot… 

My all time favourite is the Jawa mee! It’s a must order whenever I’m there… well… for me, it’s the best, compared to the ones in Penang… but.. my Penang friends somehow do not know how to appreciate it… haha… perhaps they are very much used to the plain tomato sauce soup noodles (Penang Jawa mee)

Yellow noodles with the thick soup (made of potato based tomato gravy), sliced fried beancurd, prawn fritters, prawn crackers, boiled eggs,  topped with grounded peanuts and lime juice…

May May.. I know you want this :D muahahahahahaa…. *evil grin

The lor bak stall with it’s signature “bomb”.. yam balls with salted egg yolks… I don’t really like that one though… haha… first timers will be curious… my friend ordered it.. so that explains why it’s there in the plate… but they have pretty extensive choice of lor bak to choose from…

Barbequed pork slice bread… yummy! it’s a normal bun with bbq-ed pork slice, dipped in egg and flour mixture, i think, and deep fried to perfecto… crispy and so yummy… it has got different fillings to choose from, bbq-ed pork slice, pork floss or the chicken curry….

 

Fresh sugar cane juice… non diluted ok.. :D

Shaved ice, with “o gio” also known as aiyu jelly… perfect on hot sunny day!

This is like only a quarter of it…. many other yummy food available… the laksa… the claypot rice… the wanton noodles… the poh piah/spring rolls, nyonya kuih-s, the herbal tea drink, yong tau foo, chicken rice.. hokkien noodles, the fried chicken, and many many more!!

But I have to say, compared to last time, it’s not as packed already… losing it’s popularity I guess… and kids now don’t hangout at hawker stalls anymore… they go to bistros, coffee place, cafe and stuffs… sigh.. not like the good old days.. :D

Babes, one makan outing there again someday?

Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

This is the time where family gather, eat moon cake, drink tea and spend time together.. Kids play and go for walk with their lanterns, but it’s raining now here in Penang (in fact, it rains every year).. so I guess they can play in the house only la.. Last time when I was young, I would persuade my parents to bring us to the park (Taman Jubli Perak used to be a nice park, like a little zoo) when the sun sets, and of course together with my relatives… I’m lucky to have most of my relatives staying nearby… majority of my mom’s sisters and their family stays at nearby neighbourhood…. So we will call each other up and make an outing date to the park… those days, a lot of families enjoyed this day sitting at the park under the moonlight, the adults, sat there chit chatting, the kids, played with their lanterns, light candles around the picnic area, and an adult will escort us for the walk around the park and the huge pond… missing childhood times a lot laaa… :( Guess everyone does too, right?

Anyways, i bought 2 cute round grumpy piggy moon cakes from the market this morning… walked past the stall and saw them.. so cuteee… but now looking at their grumpy face.. aiyo… it’s like they already know their fate.. :P

A simple pandan mooncake, but nice… :D

Best snow skin mooncake I’ve had this year…. from Baker’s Cottage… it’s sweet but luckily it has got the saltiness of the yolk… Even Codie wants it…. :P

Sniff sniff……. mommy I want it!! *He’s not getting any :P

Worst snow skin moon cake ever tasted…. even the cheap ones selling at pasar malam taste better…the skin was hard and the filling was sticky.. it’s like a cake that was baked with high heat, the outerpart hard and the inside not cooked and imagine the mess when you start to cut it… I’m not sure if it’s not that fresh anymore or it’s meant to be like this… but if it is, then I’m so NOT gonna get them anymore, EVER…  my friend got the normal moon cake from Tai Thong too, and guess what…. there’s mold and fungus lo when they open the package up… tsk tsk tsk…..

Ang Kong Na Piah… direct translation would be, “doll biscuit”.. wakakaka… from Tho Yuen and Heong Far biscuit from Foh San….  

My sis’s friend bought her mooncake from Vietnam… it’s larger than a regular size moon cake and the filling…. hm… meat! Instead of the normal lotus/bean paste! I did not try it.. she say it tasted a lil bit weird.. so it’s okay.. she can have it all :P

So go grab a moon cake, a cup of tea and enjoy the night with the full moon view….