Dinner @ Home

Dinner preparations started with a glass of Rosemount Cabernet Shiraz 2007 - exquisite

Main ocourse was baked "chicken meat" fish using a mixture of parsley, watercress sauce and plain salt and pepper.

And the finished product...  nicely served with a unique sauce of watercress +garlic +mayonaise +lemon sauce.

Way to eat it... small bites with the sauce.

For tummy filler, a good slab of Malaccan roasted pork, generously served...

Not to forget Jo's filo pastry with spinach and cocktail sausages... and a good helping of honey mustard spicy Chat potatoes and cheese baked Chat potatoes.

Dessert imported from Ipoh - Coconut Jelly.

Breakfast @ Glenmarie

One eat-spot in town that serves a good selection of economy rice and noodles can be found at U1 Glenmarie.

Famous dish to look for would be the Curry Mee, with a variety of ingredients to include...

Spice level - High. Mark Tan will attest to that.

As always, good food must be shared. And good company makes it better.

Life is no bed of Roses

One thing's for certain. I cannot live life expecting roses everyday.
Sometimes they come, at the most unexpected moment, from the least expected people.

But the one who is supposed to deliver... disappointment again.

What do I do?

Of lifelong decisions and mistakes on the spur

Life takes twists and turns expectedly. And in life, there comes a time where things are simply expected.

So there I was, happily cruising thru in a 2 wheeler, enjoying the bachelorhood and couldn't-care-less... to the day I had to switch to a 2 door ride. Add-on in techie, or in McD if you prefer.

There's the adjustment to deal with. A little tuning here and there is a requisite every now and then. Mood swings, temper tantrum... its all in the package. Take it or leave it.

I did a little pondering. It'll be great to have to do this for myself. That doesn't work this lifetime. Commitments and a duty to deliver pretty much sums of the path.

Certain I didn't make a mistake? I suppose I did have lots of silly stubborn mistakes. Some I just have to live with for awhile.

Finally it became clear. I deliver. I always deliver.
Tempers I can deal with. Tantrums I can live with. I have mine to share, so its only fair [then live's not always fair]. And now I embark on this path, one which I stand firm on not turning back.

6 days to go.

Wish me luck.

Paying by the size of your car

You all heard about the fuel subsidy for vehicles with smaller CC.
Here's what I heard, and a thought for you:

1. Users are to swipe their Malaysian ID at the fuel station before filling up.
2. The swipe will tell what vehicle's CC the user own.
3. User gets fuel at the earned value.

So now think on this.

1. Father owns a 7 series and 1.5cc, but registers the 7 series as a gift for the son.
2. Father drives the 7 series to the pump, swipes his ID (which says he owns a 1.5cc)
3. So he gets cheaper fuel, for his larger car.
4. Son drives the 1.5cc, pays fuel for the 7 series (cant be bad, since the tank's so minute)

The rich gets a loophole, the working class pays for it?

Getting married

A moment in my life to remember...

Waiting in line to take the marriage vow [and waiting for the witnesses to arrive]

Repeating the marriage vows by taking an oath :o

Exchanging wedding rings [Now we're bound for *life*]

Christmas Day Dinner

The meal preparation started around 4pm. We targeted dinner to commence 7pm.

A swirl of activities - everyone's hard at work, under the Chef's supervision (ahem!)

Cream of pumpkin all ready to go (a whole pumpkin went into this - no Campbell contribution this time round)

Potato stuffed capsicum, topped with melted cheese and cheese baked aubergine. Trying to go less-meat this year.

Boiled brussels sprouts. My favourite, also a legacy from grandpa.

The roasted turkey, from The Ship, Damansara. They always lived up to their name.

A flurry of knife work. Turkey carving had become my main task each year.

Not too shabby eh...

Ask me not what those bratwurst are. I've no idea. The can's not in English, it was a gift, and the instruction given was to boil em, peel em, eat em.

Tasted ok, a little saltish. For the life of me, I couldn't really stomach what I don't recognize.

The highlights of Christmas - 3 lobsters, imported frozen from East M'sia.

Halved, spiced with oregano by recommendation, salted and peppered. Generously topped with mozarella cheese.

Oven baked for 30 minutes...

Voila! Pardon the poor photography. Cheese was nicely browned...

Dessert was fruit tarts, infused with 12 year old Glenfiddich Single Malt Whiskey. Yummy....

And to wash it all down, I made a little cocktail...

P.Wen felt the kick from the first sip...

Jo says "Hmmm..."

Sunkist + Vodka + Lemon juice = Can't go wrong cocktail

And that's me after dinner, and a full bottle of Vodka.

Christmas Eve dinner

Decided to do a light Christmas Eve dinner this year, since Jo and Cheng will only be back on 25th.

So for the 5 of us, oven bake was the order of the night.

Baked potatoes in dried parsley

Oven baked Salmon

Baked, cheese stuffed chicken breast

Movie night: New Moon

My review of this movie may likely ellicit some resistance from the many chicklets and chickadees who're fans of this saga.

Having sat thru 2 hours of the movie (excluding the various snipped off scenes by 1M'sians), it got me thinking of some of the practical aspects of being the mythical creatures...

Like the human lady who's dinner to one, and lover to another...





Or the group of hunks (I kept hearing loud ooohs and aaahs from the chicklets in the cinema each time these gents appeared) that changes into *stinking mutts* conveniently when provoked.

Ever wondered where they got their pants when they change back to their human form? I'd reckon werewolves don't have a pouch akin to kangaroos. Which leaves them with one possible hidey hole - the butt!

And not to forget the fact that vampires can re-create their kind with a little *infection*. This rather tilts the balance in the face-off. Imagine 5 w-wolves vs 500 vamps? After all, the movie makes it clear w-wolves were a genetic trait of the tribe. So don't expect to see an afro-american wolf?

Me being a leather-freak, I got to thinking about those sparkling hide - they could be a good income earner if nicely cured. You'll have the supermodels strutting the catwalk with a Cullen hide, sparkles brighter than diamonds in the sun..

But what impressed me the most [not having read the books] was Jane's ability. She said *pain*, and you get *pain*.

What if she said *orgasm*? Hmmm..... [humans are never meant to be given special abilities] :)