/ Monday, November 09, 2009
It was cookie-baking-weekend again.
Genie had ran out of treats (AGAIN) so we spent the whole of Saturday afternoon baking 'peanut butter pillows'. We basically put peanut butter, wheat flour and non-lactose milk together, cut them up into 1cm x 1cm squares and baked them. And because peanut butter was naturally oily, the cookies came out poofy in the middle and kinda pastry-like. Hence the term 'Peanut butter pillows'
Mind you, I had to go to Carrefour just to get natural peanut butter. Like ground peanuts and nothing else. No salt, no extra oil.. nothing. Can't seem to find natural peanut butter anywhere else. I couldn't use the regular kind because of the high amount of salt/sugar/additional oil - not suited for dogs.
I think the experience has put me off peanut butter. I mean.. the natural one is already so oily. The type we normally consume has extra oil added.....
Ewww. Tubba-oil.
Anyhow, we had to put Genie in a playpen (read: cage with no cover) outside the kitchen while baking. She was fine with it until the smells from the oven reached her. Then she started whining and wanting to get out. We let her out in the end so she can sniff around in the kitchen.
When she started trying to jump on the kitchen counter to lick leftover dough, we locked her back up.
I prefer the old-school beef and carrot cookies which I gave away in July for Genie's birthday. It's less oily and definitely more nutritious. But the peanut butter pillows are easier to prepare (no need to cook minced beef.... grate carrots.... etc) but I don't think it'll be a recipe of 'choice'.
Does anyone want to test the peanut butter pillows? I'll be happy to pass a small batch to you for your furkid.
I painted my dreams at
4:02 PM
/ Monday, November 02, 2009
Dinner with Shimin, Jen and Jen's mom turned out to be better than expected. We headed to Deli-vege, some unknown vegetarian place along South Bridge Road. Well, unknown to me, at least. The foodie website
www.hungrygowhere.com gave this place pretty good ratings. Service was kinda meh, but the food was good. We tried the much-raved-about DFC (their veg version of KFC) and man it was good. Tasted and looked like fried chicken but it didn't have that oily feel to it. Yumsy.
The Black Pepper 'stek' was a disappointed. Tough/dry and too salty. But it did taste like beef..
I guess they didn't want to confuse customers, so steak was spelt 'stek' and chicken was spelt 'chiken' and so on. That way no one will mistake it for real meat.
We also ordered a claypot rice and laksa - which were pretty good. But man, that DFC. I'd never forget.
After which we headed to Brewerks (yes, with Jen's Mom too!) for drinks and dessert. It was great catching up and bitching about work. Once again, Timothy Tan's name was brought up and we laughed at all the funny things he did/said many years ago in JC/Uni. I suspect we'll bring the same thing up every time we meet, but it's so amusing it never gets old.
The night was over too fast but we were all tired. I'm sure Jen and her mom were tired out from the flight to SG.. anyhow, we really need to arrange another dinner like this. I really enjoyed myself.
Saturday was quite disappointing though.
You may not know, but every alt Saturday, I head to Uncle Sam's place to play mahjong with my paternal Grandma (AKA Ama). We'd start at 3pm.. then at 5.30, we'll take a break. I'll head to the condo pool for a swim while Ama cooks dinner.. then we continue with Mahjong at 7.30 to whatever time.. normally about 10ish.
So I spent Saturday afternoon losing money to Ama.. got changed into my swimsuit... and just as I was about to leave the place.. it started to pour. Gaaaahhh. So it was back to the Mahjong table. I was so annoyed with weather, I refused to change out of my swimsuit and played mahjong in it. I continued to sulk until dinner was over and I went to change out of my dry swimsuit.
Then I continued to lose money to Ama until I had 30 cents left the drawer and we decided to call it a night. Considering we play small amounts (like 10cents, 20 cents), I still managed to lose 15bucks.
This is the reason why I hate playing with my maternal grandmother (AKA popo) - they like to play big and I ALWAYS lose more than 100 bucks.
Ama won 30 bucks on Saturday. Everyone else lost. If this game was with Popo, i think she'd have won a few hundred.
Between the two old ladies, I get very poor.
I painted my dreams at
10:08 AM
/ Monday, October 26, 2009
Another weekend gone by. And I haven't found time to make adjustments on the blog either. The background picture has... disappeared. I may be going for new design, but am really lazy, so in the meantime, please bear with the icky blog until I find the time and energy to make changes (i.e when I go on leave from work in late Nov)
Had dinner with Shimin on Friday (Melvin incl.). We went to Empire State, if I recall the name correctly, at Iluma. Food was good, as expected. I really enjoy eating there - feel like such a pig, shovelling food into my mouth.
Shimin had their squid ink pasta and she agreed it was great. Seems the black pasta is really popular. I saw quite a number of people eating it. Melvin almost burst trying to finish his hamburger steak and chocostrawberry milkshake. I had a Caeser's Salad and three pieces.. of... something. Bruschetta, I believe they're called. Very yummy. Each huge piece had different toppings. Mushroom/cheese... tomato/olive oil/herb...chicken.. very yummy.
Now don't you think I'm going on diet... the reason behind the 'light' dinner is because we planned for cake and tea at Teadot after dinner. haha!
The wildjackfruit cake was ohhh.. heavenly. Melvin and I made sure we bought a slice back for his mom. The strawberry tiramisu... well.. we couldn't taste the tiramisu in the cake. The tea we ordered... OMG like fantastic. I dont think Shimin really enjoyed her tea because she'd ordered a brewed earl grey.. without milk/sugar. I had this concoction of earl grey latte + caramel. It was smooth and creamy, though the aroma was a little diluted because of the milk. Min's brewed earl grey definitely had a stronger taste/scent. Melvin had Macha? Some green tea thingy that I thought was horrid, but he enjoyed it.
Food aside, company and conversation was great. We didn't do anything much except eat and gush over pretty musical boxes at one of the Iluma Shops, but it was fab that we managed to catch up with Shimin and chitchat over nothing at all.
Naturally, we talked about mutual friends and aquintances. No one was spared :P Then we got into the depressing topic of old folks dying. This was brought up because Melvin's maternal grandparents (yes, both of them) landed in hospital last week for different reasons. One had piles, was warded and somehow picked up a viral infection at the hospital, while the other had a stroke. Now the two are quite 'blur'. They don't seem to know what's going on around them sometimes. The family thinks dementia may be setting in. So Shimin shared her experience about her grandmother etc.
I sat there thinking if it comes to point where I'm bedridden and have to be fed by a tube, please kill me. Don't let me linger for 5 or 6 years.. in fact, don't let me linger at all. I mean, what's the point in living if i'm stuck on a bed, can't enjoy food, can't do anything.. There is no dignity in a life like that. Hell, I can't even scold the nurses if they something wrong, ya'know?
Anyhow. Depressing topic aside...
Big Congrats to Hui Jing! She's in her 2nd trimester so here's wishing for her to have a healthy, happy pregnancy + baby.
I painted my dreams at
9:19 AM
/ Monday, October 19, 2009
500 days of Summer is a must watch.
It's not a love story per se. Rather, it's about .. relationships. Or at least, one specific relationship from a guy's point of view. It's difficult to tell you what it's about in detail without spoiling the show for you.
Just catch it - you won't regret this one.
We headed to Urbanpooch over the weekend and it was disappointing, to say the least. Dark, dank, a lil filthy and extremely overpriced. I paid almost 60 dollars for 3 people to dine there and it isn't even air conditioned! The food was mediocre at best and the room to house the dogs while you 'enjoy your meal' was... well, lets just say I decided *not* to put Genie in there after one look.
k9 Kafe gives a much more enjoyable experience at a fraction of the price. I paid 60 dollars for 5 or 6 people to dine at k9 kafe. and the food at k9 is much more edible.
Alright now, I better get back to work. Need to come up with an article before 5 today.
I painted my dreams at
2:38 PM
/ Monday, October 12, 2009
There are certain times when I wish I'd kept my big mouth shut and this is one of those.
I received an email early this morning (copied to me) from another department thanking a particular somebody for the organisation of an event held in march this year. Now, I was the person who did all the work. But the 'particular somebody' being thanked wasn't me.
So I replied to some in my department about how sometimes I felt quite unappreciated. It was a one sentence email directed at no one in particular.
One of those recipients, which happens to be my RO, replied that she appreciates all the work I've done even though others may not acknowledge it. The email came with an advice that she's been giving everyday since she came in - I need to 'trumpet' my achievements. BUT for some unexplicable reason, she chose to cc my director in that reply.
Then HE replied to her reply saying it's not enough that she appreciates me and that we need to get to the root of the problem and asked her to talk to me and submit a detailed report on why I was feeling this way and how we should tackle it.
So NOW I'm due for a meeting with her AND the director... in... 45minutes.
It doesn't help that when I sent Yoko that email to ask for advice, she burst out laughing so loud that the entire department went 'what's so funny?'.. she walked over to my desk and gave me a hug and a 'goodluck'. Even when she was walking back to her desk, I heard peals of laughter.
I should have kept my big mouth shut.
I painted my dreams at
1:58 PM
/ Monday, October 05, 2009
It was a very eventful weekend.
Lexin, her boyfriend (Ben), Melvin and I went to Bark Cafe near the Changi Chapel and Museum with the dogs (Fatfat, their toy poodle, and of course, Genie the naughty rascal). We learnt on Friday night that even though it was called Bark Cafe, they didn't allow pets. Naturally, we only found out *after* we got there and saw the big 'NO PETS' sign.
Lexin waggled her finger at Ben because he was the one who suggested the place in the first place. But it's all good because they let us in anyway and we had a nice little corner to ourshelves. Then again, it's alfresco dining, yah? Our corner was right next to a patch of grass, which Genie promptly pee-ed on after we sat down.
The food was good. Lexin and I ordered the same thing - Fish & Chips and Plum Soda. Ben had some burger while Melvin ordered their cod fish steak and gleefully announced he was having a beer because Ben's the designated driver. You can tell it's been awhile. Melvin's normally the designated driver. We also ordered their signature Chicken Wings. Alot of hype going on about their chicken wings.
I didn't take any pictures, as usual. I normally dig in.. and midway through the meal realise "OMG I should take pictures and post it!" so yeah. No pictures.
The Fish & Chips were pretty good. Not as good as some I've tasted in Sydney, but good enough. And I love the salad that came with it. Fresh salad beats coleslaw anytime. And it was a decent serving of greens. Not the 1 or 2 pieces of green some cafes put there 'for decoration'.
The cod.. meh. tasteless. Not enough sauce. Fish & chips were definitely better.
I didn't get to try the burger (I mean, hello, was meeting Ben for the first time), but he said it was Fab. The chicken wings were.. nice. Nice as in.. regular? Nothing to rave about. I prefer Melvin's Mom's version of BBQ-ed chicken wings. Now THOSE are to die for.
The Sour Plum Soda was Deeeelicious. It was sour (duh) and sweet and cold and very very yummy. Guys who don't like sour stuff should not attempt this drink. Melvin's face scrunched up and did a lil chair jiggy when he took a sip. It was quite funny.
Fatfat and Genie seemed to get along OK - a few growls here and there but mostly just sniffed at each other. Fatfat is so dainty! She has such a small mouth and when Melvin gave her a treat, she slowly, and gently took it from him. Genie just chomped.
Oh the difference between those two.
During Dinner, Fatfat would sit on the bench and when the food came, she sniffed at it but didn't attempt to eat or lick the food. We tried placing Genie on the bench too but she attempted to climb on the table =.= so she spent the evening on the floor instead.
Such an embarassment, that dog of mine.
Saturday was spent playing Mahjong with Ama after a very satisfying buffet lunch at Orchard Hotel. I love abalone so I was extremely excited to see alaskan abalone as part of the buffet. I think I've fulfilled my abalone quota for the year.
Sunday wooshed past so fast I didn't even know it was over until dinnertime.
Why can't weekends be three days long? :(
I painted my dreams at
12:05 PM
/ Friday, October 02, 2009
My last post was supposed to be about the Genting Trip but I managed to lose it..
It was quite meh, actually. I lost 100 ringgit in what, half an hour?
We spent the first evening there walking around the shops, doing a lil exploring. Next day, we headed to KL for some shopping and spent one whole day in Sungei Wang Plaza. Then 3rd day... we got ready to go home.
Did too little things in a very miserably short holiday.
Plus, it must have been public holidays there or something because everywhere we went, there were little kids running around. I'd almost tripped over the smaller ones that didn't quite reach my knees.
So instead of a PEACEFUL, relaxing vacation, I had one crowded with families and lil kids. Ever been on vacation where you're annoyed the second you hit the hotel lobby? Ya I had one of those.
The only upside was that we managed to try a fish spa. It was going for only 18 ringgit, so what the hell, we gave it a shot.
I stuck my feet in it, screamed and removed them from the water. Melvin did pretty much the same. Mostly cos we weren't expecting the very enthusiastic nibbling from the fishes to be SO TICKLISH. So while some guy was giving me a head/shoulder massage, I was giggling away at the nibbling of my feet, making it very difficult for the masseuse to do his job.
I did say the fishes were enthusiastic, right? It's like the entire tank of fish was gathered around our feet. Not a single one of them thought "eww stinky feet" and stayed away. It was like 'OMG FOOD! *nibble nibble*' and ALL the fishes came. We couldnt even SEE our feet. Just alot of fishes gathering around the area where our legs stuck out of the water.
The worst was those that tried to squirm in between my toes.... I'd play cheat and wriggle my toes once in awhile when things got too ticklish and they'd all zoom away.... towards Melvin's feet. Muahaha.
Did I mention we were making so much noise giggling and going 'omgomg' that we were attracting quite a crowd? This little girl even walked up to melvin and asked "does it hurt?"
So if you haven't given the fish spa a go, you simply must try. It's kinda fun.
I painted my dreams at
11:59 AM
