This year our family X'mas was quite special not because we all celebrated it in my new home but for the first time in 6 years we had a full quorum for X'mas. My dad and myself seldom flew home for Christmas coz we are saving our money and leave for Chinese New Year. Last year I went back coz I wanted to celebrate Gina's 1st birthday which falls on 30th Dec.
Suppose to be a place for me to polish my writing skills... now become a space to tell everything hehehe
Monday, December 29, 2008
Hark The Herald Angels Sing ... Noel 2008
This year our family X'mas was quite special not because we all celebrated it in my new home but for the first time in 6 years we had a full quorum for X'mas. My dad and myself seldom flew home for Christmas coz we are saving our money and leave for Chinese New Year. Last year I went back coz I wanted to celebrate Gina's 1st birthday which falls on 30th Dec.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
Actually I won't describe our rendezvous that Wednesday nite as fun lah but I guess its worth the trip though "the girls" are all under the same roof, we are still distant apart... And of course, we have lots of gossips and stories to catch up i.e Battle of the Mak Datins, Wedding Crashers, The Non-Performers, New KSU wannabes, ... dan banyak lagi. Dari siapa lagi kalau bukan Diva CNN Miss Noni Abigail. Sidetrack, I couldn't help but envy how tebal Oswald punyer flawless foundation ladden complexion.
Nasiblah kiter buat farewell party untuk Meli kat situ. Kalau tak, tak dapat lah jemputan macam nie. Having said that, miss lah our Mesyuarat Pagi at Cafe Mesra dengan ahli2 mesyurat Meli, Noni, Zali, Rambo and Azirul... And miss jugak lah our DIVA farewell party for Meli and Semin. Drink, sing and be Merry. Noorul, so looking forward to our bowling cum KTV plans... I dah feel suffocated lah dengan negative energy kat enforcement nie. Kena bagi balance YIN and YANG nie.
MAMMA MIA THE MUSICAL @ ISTANA BUDAYA, KUALA LUMPUR (18-12-2008)
Finally the World's No. 1 and most anticipated show has arrived in Kuala Lumpur. It's a like a DREAM come true for me. I memang berangan-angan nak watch the show one day kalau berpeluang ke London. However if not because of Zam aka Aznul punya reminders I might miss this One in a Lifetime Opportunity. I think many thanks jugak to my boss En Mad Din for making it happen to me.
I was seated among SP Setia's loyal customers at row X. For me I suka lah lokasi tuh sebab kita boleh tgk dia punya lightings and whole stage assemble. Paling penting that nite I bolehlah pakai gaun Zara I. Nasib baik lah I dress up jugak lah malam tuh. I jumpa CEO Great Eastern - Mr Khor (dia nie Sarawakian and close to my upline Mdm Heng), I was a few seats away from a lawyer Chinese-Indian couple whom I knew few years ago on a case, YB Dato' Fu Ah Kow, KP JKT Datin Arpah and my TKP Dato' Bakar, chat dengan Chief Executive Officer for Bandar Eco-Setia - Mr Koo. Rasa macam VIP lah pulak. Oh yea, there were many VVIPs and VIPs that nite coz the Guest of Honour was His Royal Highness The King and Queen. Plus the 2nd nite performance memang reserved for SP Setia Corporate Nite.
Before the performance started myself dengan Sam had a chat dengan purchasers yang duduk sebelah kitaorang. Of course, we tak dapat lah nak cerita pengalaman tengok this show at West End London sebab London pun tak pernah jejak ... hehehee... Tapi masa diaorang tanya "Are you buying a house with SP Setia....????" I rasa nak nyanyi jer .... "I do, I do, I do, I do, I do...." But diaorang memang humble, masa part akhir time semua orang bangun ambik gambar and put their hair down, we dance and sing sama-sama to Dancing Queens, Mamma Mia and Waterloo.
Though I was excited about Mamma Mia The Musicals tapi sayang I watched the movie dulu. So a few of the lines tu I dah anticipate like "DOT... DOT... DOT" and "EJACULATION" huhuhu... Banyak jugak lah unsur 18SX dalam show tuh but who cares ... The singing, the dancing and the ENERGY ... huhuhu... bak kata Ramli Ibrahim of Sutra Dance - "Sex Sells".
Anyway, I tak sabar nak tgk PGL 3 plak. I dah dapat tiket dah to watch the final night show. Sam said PGL nie lebih happening, so I guess I better judge it for myself.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Countdown To Blue Christmas 2008
I decided on Blue Christmas theme after turning purple green with envy over Rosmin's Winter Rendezvous... Besided it gonna be raining season over in Malaysia so RAIN=WATER (the snow in malaysia melts) = BLUE. Anyway, I think it's about time I put on my creative cap and party planner self whom I have shelved somewhere over these years... Dunno lah why, it takes toooooo loooooooooooooooong to fix a broken heart. Oh yea, I also found halal whole turkey at GIANT yesterday and I am soooooo going to have stuffed roasted turkey for Christmas this year.
In Kuching, the the Bidayuh Christmas celebration is a bit like Hari Raya. Apart from manok pansuh or the non-halals, the rest is infusion of Malay influence like kari, masak merah, masak hitam, rendang, ketupat pulut. Of course like most Sarawakian household during festivies, the kek lapis (layer cake) is a MUST. However, eversince I moved to KL .. I have been having Western style Christmas. There will be friends sending Christmas puddings, champagnes, roast turkey - except last year coz I went back for Gina's 1st birthday. And like other celebrations in the Yeoh-Soweng household - Christmas is a time to compete, and comparing notes like who's cooking is the nicest, who make the best looking layer cake, or who put on the GLAMOUROUS bling-bling.
Maybe I have been a very good girl that God make sure there are lots of wonderful blue Christmas decorative ornaments in Midvalley and Ikea this year. The last Christmas Party I had back in 2006, everything was in the traditional colours of gold and red. Halleluyah... I had been seeing things BLUE since Saturday. That Sunday, I did the pre-decoration of my Christmas Tree and I think Blue ROCKs! Now I just need to wait for my 3 amah Indon - Joan, Jason and Jayne, 1 Filipino cook - Mdm Nelly Paya and 1 Hong Kong bouncer cum supervisor - Mr Yeoh coming over on the 23rd to do the rest of the work.
Wonder what Santa has in store for me this Christmas ... what will he give me if I am EXtra good this year...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Happy Anniversary Mr. & Mrs. Yeoh
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A Garam Massala Day ...
0730-0800
Aku menerima kunjungan Rajbeer Singh, legal executive for a former giant developer company. Dulu dia musuh ketat aku and Madam Yong. Tapi ada lah satu incident tu yang buat kami berbaik and aku pun ubah pandangan aku pada dia. Lagi lah when I told him my uncle is a Singh - married to my mum elder sister and love Northern Indian food lagilah dia seronok. Setiap kali jumpa aku mesti nak introduce dengan a very good Punjabi guy. So aku mesti letak syarat punya - min requirement Shah Rukh Khan, but preference Arjun Rampal. He just came back from Punjab, India and bought me some Bollywood souvenirs plus Massala Tea (my favourite) .. nak kena sorok from Joan and Mummy nie.
Delicious tak .. ni yang bahaya nak pandang lama2 nie. To Noorul and Syu, I know what u guys are thinking ...
Mie's Note: Balik kerja semalam baru perasan .... perkaitan insiden-insiden nie. Very the massala kan. Apa-apa pun I need to save the turkey malam nie, else ada orang kena makan Turkey Curry esok.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Indo-China Inspired Aidil Adha
Since he was not celebrating Aidil Adha with his family at his sister's house in Kapar, I suggested we had steamboat yesterday. Since he has been boasting about his very original Thai Tom Yum eversince the day he knew how to spell it so I suggested we have his Tom Yum as the soup base for the steamboat. Mula2 tuh macam-macam lah alasan. Tak biasa masak pakai kuali lain lah, sukatan kena pakai sudu tertentu lah, sukar nak agak sukatan air lah but of course lah I nak jugak rasa his Tom Yum.
Initially I thought that he might be using the Tom Yum paste like most of us and his story of using fish sauce and chili paste was just a myth. Then I pun macam impress when he REALLY bought the fish sauce, galangal, tomato, lemon grass, coconut milk, kaffir lime and leaves at the Pasar Borong. Dia siap suggest brand chilli bean oil yang dia pakai that is Mae Pra Nom. However, recently his Thai friend suggested another brand but he doesn't know how to pronounce it. But the truth is I pun tak pernah masak Tom Yum from the scratch. So I don't know what the heck to put in the pot to make Tom Yum soup.
Haa, lupa plak nak story. While waiting for him that Sunday, I singgah sekejap lah at this one Indian shop near his apartment area. I impress giler when I found out they sell rice wrappers (Banh Thrang) that the Vietnamese use to make their famous Spring Roll (Cha Goi). Murah pulak tu, just RM 3.40. The one I bought at Midvalley's Little Vietnam cost about RM 10.00.
Yesterday, I woke up at about 11.00 am to kemas-kemas rumah a bit before Sam arrive for our cooking session. Biasalah I mesti akan ambik gambar punyer so set penggambaran kena lawa lah sikit. Haa... the tikar tuh my mum import khas dari Sarawak tau. My mum nie terer lah pasal tikar kelesah nie. The one she bought bukan setakat better quality malahan lebih murah dan lebih halus buatannya berbanding the one I bought. Untuk memujuk hati, I letak tikar yang I beli kat dapur, as it blends with the deco. Ni side track a bit lah yer, sebenarnya saja nak show off macam mana I blend my Sarawak heritage into the modern contemporary theme. .. ahakss
So masa my Take Home Chef masak dia punya renowned Tom Yum. I buat lah I punya Vietnamese Steam Spring Roll. Since Sam nie "carnivourous" I buat yang takde sayur lah menggunakan minced chicken yang digoreng dengan bawang, halia, a bit of fish sauce and hoisin sauce. BTW, these spring roll nie better buat masa hari nak makan not the day before atau simpan dalam fridge sebab this will cause the wrapper to dry. Nanti not nice lah.
Anyway back to Sam's, the moment Sam add the fish sauce, galangal and lemon grass into the boiling water, I could feel I dah berada kat Thailand. Then whwn he put in the chilli oil paste, the tomatoes and the kaffir lime and leaves I dapat rasakan nie bukan calang-calang Tom Yum nie. Bau pun dah lain. Kalau yang kita makan kat kedai tuh penuh "sampah-sarap" jer. So malas nak cakap banyak so nie lah hasil tangan kami hari tuh.
Ramuan simple jer.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
In Loving Memory of Encik Tomadan Johari
I don't know what to say here except I pray that he will be placed among the faithfuls. He was among the best bosses I've ever had. Ever trusting his subordinates and peers despites the pressure and stress coming from all corners. When he fell sick, everyone in the enforcement was so worried. And when he was selected to be the TKSU(O) everybody cheered. I think those who use to work under him will understand why...
Mie's Note:
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Aku Yang Kepenatan Part 3
20 - 23 November 2008
My parent and my god parent came over for the blessing ceremony of my new H.O.M.E. I specially flew my godparent over as they were other very,very important people in my life other than my own parent. Especially my godfather lah who has been like a father to me. Ever since I bought my apartment I memang nak my godfather to do the honour of blessing it as he is also the layreader (macam tok imam lah) for St. Patrick Chapel. Kira kalau priest lain segala makhluk halus, kasar, portergeist tak nak lari lah dari rumah tuh kecuali hantu2 yang menunggu house warming ... ini banyak "teluk" punya hantu.
Errr... sekali kala insaf pulak mengenang kekurangan diri ini. Ahaksss...
Jangan jeles ... kari kepala ikan ala peranakan nie I masak tau...
Sayangnya my godparent flew with my mum to Penang first to visit my dad. Orang Sarawak nie bukan jenis yang makan pedas2 and my dad dok bantai bagi depa makan kari kepala ikan lah, nasi kandaq la, pasumboq lah that by the time they arrived in KL I berdepan dengan major casualties... semua kena cirit birit dan muntah-muntah. Kesian sangat sampai kena ambik emergency leave that Fateful Friday. Yang lucunya ubat2 kat klinik yang mahal2 semua tak berkesan, pil Chi Kit Teck Aun yang RM 0.99 jugak berkesan. And walaupun belum pulih sepenuhnya boleh tahan jugak dia orang nie jalan2.... hahaha. Bak kat my godmother, apalah sangat jalan kat KL nie berbanding panjat gunung nak gi kebun kat Beson Re'dien (a name of a place in my kampung).
My godparent had never been to KL before. So I pun excited lah tunjuk diaorang places of interest kat KL nie (including places yang kita memang tak terfikir pun nak pergi) dan macam mana I drift la kat KL nie (as if). From 22 Nov to 23 Nov, I bawak diaorang gi Midvalley, The Curve, tgk bangunan KLCC, Muzium Negara, Istana Negara. The following day, my nephew pulak bawak diaorang jalan2 ke Batu Caves, and Putrajaya.
My nephew ni when he is not flying dia volunteer kat Zoo Negara so at first dia plan nak show off harimau (which actually dia volunteer to help to clean the kandang) kat Zoo Negara. I was against the idea after that incident at the Singapore Zoo. Mana tau tiba2 harimau tuh tgk parents aku delicious sangat macam Tony Romas rib steak ... hehehehe. Dia pun ada cakap, first day dia volunteer kat Zoo Negara the tigers were restless with his presence. In my head I rasa the tigers were thinking of him as "dinner" barangkali ...
25-26 November 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday I brought my parents shopping baju untuk anak2 buah I. My mum said sekarang baju Gina semua dah sexy2 sebab dia dah besar. So kenalah laksanakan tanggungjawab beli baju yang menutup aurat. Tapi kalau ikut hati baby girl memang kena bagi pakai baju seksi ... bagi nampak betis yang tembam tu. I geram betul when my sis hantar mms gambar dia pakai legging hitam ... Gina pun baru gemuk balik lepas Hand Foot and Mouth Disease scare last 3 weeks. I love the look on their face when I told them kita try LRT today from Bukit Jalil to SOGO hehehehe. My godfather said, selama nie tgk LRT ni kat TV jer. Skg nie bukan setakat tgk. Siap boleh naik sekali. Plus tercapai jugak hasrat both my mothers nak beli handbag baru kat SOGO.
27-30 November 2008
After dinner we went to see Gina at my cousin's house. Hehehe... mula2 tuh my little girl jeling2 malu "pusa" kat aku. Tak sampai setengah jam, terus taknak lepas minta aku peluk cium dia. Baju I habis kena tarik masa mummy dia nak ambik. Daddy dia nak ambik pun dia taknak. Yelah, lama jugak aku tak balik Kuching so sure la dia rindu dengan Mummy KL (panggilan oleh anak2 buah I) dia nie.
Nie I nak share lah, selain mi kolok dan laksa Sarawak, sebenarnya u all pun kena try Teh C Peng Special kat Kuching nie. Kat Kuching, this is pesaing utama Coffee Bean and Starbuck. Teh C Peng special nie ada 2 layer, 3 layer, 4 layer dan yang paling hebat lah 5 layer. Haaa... nie I ambik gambar 5 layer - gula cair, susu sejat, gula apong, jus pandan dan akhir sekali cincau... haa.. tgk betapa hebatnya orang Kuching buat air teh.
Haa... masa I sekolah dulu I suka makan kat satu tempat nie, depan Electra House. Nama dia Open Air Market. It has section yang halal and non-halal. Of course bagi tujuan melepas geram I gi yang tak halal lah hehehe... Kat sini selain ABC, satu lagi minuman yang kira time tuh hebat lah dikenali sebagai Air Batu Special. Ramuan dia senang jer, susu cair, susu manis, ais kisar, laici atau longan, jeli, tembikai, nenas, nata de coco and buah kabung (or buah enau).
Yang herannya, auntie gerai no. 39 yang berjual kat situ sampai sekarang muka dia sama jer. Rambut pun masih hitam lagi. Suspect betul...
I went back to KL on 30th Nov on an Air Asia flight. Honestly, that was my scariest flight experience. U see, I think due to demand and maybe sebab mengejar volume, Air Asia punya flight biasanya macam very fast. Kita boleh dengar bunyi deruman pesawat tuh moving on high speed dari dalam pesawat.
About an hour on the flight, the plane collide with a clear air turbulence sampai pesawat tuh bergegar teruk, flights attendants lintang pukang cari tempat duduk. Then kita boleh rasa pesawat tuh tiba2 menurun ... Gegaran tuh went on for about 5 minutes and tiba2 suasana tenang macam malaikat lalu. Nobody in the flight say a word. Even the babies tak menangis sehinggalah we heard the flight captain made an announcement few minutes later.