The Single Story - Pre Dragon New Year Shopping

I am taking a break from penning down my entry for Sawadee Ka Bangkok 2012 - Day 2. Yesssss .... it is another long entry until akak pun sudah naik pening uolsss ... Dah janji pada diri sendiri kan ... tahun ni nak tulis banyak-banyak dalam blog. So balik semalam from work, rasa nak share feeling-feeling seseorang yang single and not sure nak searching ke tak beberapa hari before New Year of the Dragon.

Anyway I read in few online fengshui sites that this year would not be a great year for a snake lady like me and so I had to lay low this year. Many obstacles will come my way and therefore I should be more cautious, rest more and careful with my money. Well, I think so too. I really want to slow down this year ...  about time I further my studies to a higher level.

So after shutting down my office PC, I took 5 minutes to think of what I want to do later.One thing sucks about being single is that, terpaksa lah buat semua sorang-sorang ... kena get use to it. Shopping and watching movies I am okay buat sorang-sorang, in fact I lebih suka pun buat sorang-sorang. We can plan our time and kita tak perlu tunggu orang.

Since it is customary for me to follow certain tradition and belief before CNY, I decided to shop for some important items like new underwear, new clothes etc. But first, I want to reward myself with nice food ... and I was in the mood for something Japanese.

I am so happy that there is a Sakae Sushi outlet in 1st Avenue, Penang. Well, after sampling so many Japanese restaurants including the ones that the Japanese in Penang and KL love to dine, I think Sakae Sushi is still a better alternative to Sushi King and cheaper alternative to my favourite restaurants like Kirishima (Cititel) or Muraku (G Hotel) or Rakuzen (Plaza Damas).

Monthly specialsssss ... sini nak order guna Ipad lagi.

Somehow, since I mostly dine alone, I still think its better to find a Japanese restaurant with Kaiten belt and counter top so you can simply choose and pick what you what to eat without having to bother about people looking at you sympathetically (very negative thoughts) ... actually, orang pun bukan peduli pun tapi kita jer dok segan-segan. Anyway, yesterday rasa special pulak ... tiba-tiba the staff give special attention to me pulak. Balik-balik tanya nak order lagi ke tak, nak refill air ke tak ... Best pulak.

Ikura Chawanmushi

 

Salmon sashimi

Trio sushi - Tamago, Sake and Unagi

The monthly special - Tropical Salmon Roll

I was surprised that I didn't eat as much as I would at Sakae yesterday. Penat kot ... Seriously, minda I sangat penat semalam. Sebab nak pastikan semua berjalan lancar for our first event on the 17 February and another one on 17th March, rasa nak gila iols plan pengisian, kerahkan staff and before balik semalam ... was really angry at my Ketua Unit PI for making a very unforgivable mistake, and it was not the first time. So after lecturing her and at the same time perbetulkan balik bajet, I rasa tenaga I dah habis keluar dari badan.

Deco CNY di 1st Avenue, Penang

Last year, the family welcomed a new member ... Carl Nickson (Baby Nick) which according to family hierarchy is my grandnephew. Hmmm dah jadi nenek rupanya I ni. Mie and Baby Nick's grandfather are first cousins, but our families are so close that we were brought up like brother and sister. In fact I called Baby Nick's great grandmother "Sindo" which means mother in Bidayuh. Baby Nick's auntie ... Gina, is the apple of my parent's eyes. I planned to teach Nick to call me Mama, sort of sounded like Ah Ma (Hokkien for Grandma) ...

Susahnya nak shop baju for baby boy ... sungguh tak seronok.

Kalau time CNY mesti selipar I hilang atau tak tau ke mana so setahun sekali kena beli slipper baru.

Rasa sedih pulak nak tinggalkan my aunties during CNY. Last year Christmas pun tak celebrate sangat with them. Usually my family in Penang celebrate Christmas as my late grandmother was born on Christmas. So i memory of her, they will hold some prayers and offer some offerings during Christmas and CNY. Balik semalam terhidu something yang sangat sangat sedap ... wah rupanya Auntie Rose made Acar (achat) for me to bring back.

Auntie Rose Acar

Acar ni a must in our house during Chinese New Year and weddings. It is a nyonya dish that ramai tak buat dah. I love to eat this with keropok. I am happy that some traditions and recipes dah sikit sikit Auntie Rose perturunkan to me. So far she taught me Gulai ayam, Sambal Hay Bee and Assam Laksa. I pulak taught her how to cook Spaghetti hehehe ... can't wait for her to teach me Otak-Otak, Acar and Jiuhu Char.

Wonder how's the preparation in Kuching.