phone calls

Here is a real business conversation I had this mroning.

Me: "Hello, may I speak to 'so and so'?"

Him: "Who is this???" (in a huff tone)

I was thinking. Erkk??? Did i get the wrong number.. ? so i said in uncertain voice

Me: "sorry, I may have dialled the wrong number, is this 01X-XXX XXX?"

Him: "yes, Who is this??"

By that time I was really perplexed, I did dial the right number, but obviously not getting the right person. Then I thought maybe someone else picked up his phone. So I asked politely again

Me: "Sorry, may I speak to 'En So and So'?"

Him in annoyed tone: " yes This is 'So and So' , Who is this??"

aaaah... so finally, it was indeed the right person and right number. Except that his angry "who is this" really throws me off..  I mean, who answers their phone like that? Shouldnt you be saying yes this is blah blah blah... IN A NICE TONE  ???  Sheesshhhh... !

Tools ... tools.. tools...

When I first saw this at Jusco, I wasa very very interested indeed.

But when I looked at the price, I had to take a step back. I mean, its not like cooking on this excessively expensive kuali is going to make me an excellent cook, like at par with Jamie Oliver or Chef Wan...

No, I havent lost my marbles yet. I got it on promotion, costing only RM189. I took the pains to check the price at Isetan, and as it was in Jusco, they run the same promo. I am noyt sure if it meant that this skillet is no good or not really well received or whatever..

The main reason why I am so attracted to it cos this must be the only one wok with handle that Ive seen that is not flat in the middle. See what I mean?? It is like the good ol black kuali they use in the old days.



Close up sikit


With the lid

It comes with a warranty card. I thought that was funny, macam la kuali tu ada serial number to identify the unit.. but nonetheless, it is good to know that it comes with a 10 year warranty.

* After using it for a period of time, I have to say I cant really recommend this pot to others. The oil sticks on the surface and it was quite difficult to clean.

creme caramel

Norlinda brought in this divine home cooked creme caramel to work today.

She said it was easy to make, and all i needed was a steamer.

Intrigued, and I asked her for the recipe.

And here is what she gave me:
6 eggs/1 tin susu cair/half cup sugar/1 tin air/1sude teh vanilla
for gula hangus: half cup gula + sedikit air

*scratch head* errrr... what do i do with the eggs.. susu cair and and what naught...???

I really need to take a cooking lesson.

Kinokuniya

We went to Kinokuniya last night cos Rizal wanted to get this one hard-to-get book. I didnt really believe him, cos I thought he was just being dramatic, but true enough, there was only one copy left AND the book was already looking worn.

As the condition of the book is no longer tip top, I asked if we could get a discount. I was expecting like 30% off or something in that raange, but guess what,after that back and forth trip consulting the store manager, all we managed to squeeze is a teeny meeny discount - like 5%. Hello...??? a big huge bookstore, and all you could manage were 5%? I wouldnt have taken it, but this is my other half we are talking about. He couldnt have cared less, as long as the book is readable, he's happy.

Anyhoot, trips to the bookstore wouldnt be complete without buying books, ay? I could rarely resist buying books (or anything else for that matter), always using the tax rebate as excuses ;). Good thing, Rizal feels the same thing, so he usually encourages me to get one or two books as well.

What I hate about Kinokuniya is that their books are all wrapped up. So I cant read it before I purchase it. (the irony of it kan, all the books berbalut bagai, and yet the very one book we wanted to get were not in good condition pun)

WOthout being able to flip the pages to see if the book is intresting or not, I am left with looking at synopsis and reviews on the cover. Which for Kino's sake is actually a good thing, cos I ended up having to buy the book to know, rather than reading a bit to know if its any good.

Anyway, my loot is as below.

Bookstore

Gatecrasher
At the time of this updated review I have read gatecrasher and had this sense of dejavu, as if I have read it or seen iyt on the movies. The ending and middle part of the book didnt ring a bell so I must have flicked through it at Borders. What interests me with this book is that it is written by same writer as the Shopoholic series. She goes under different name previuosly, and as I have always enjoyed her books before I decided to give it a try.
It wasnt disappointing as I finish reading it within 2 days. Very light and suitable for leisure reading during vacations!

Eid Fitri 2010

Wishing all muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya ....

From the bottom of my heart, please accept my sincere apology of all wrongdoings I may have done, and I wish you a blessed Eid Mubarak, this year and many years to come



The four generations.... me, my mama, my uwan and forever cheeky niece

Pisces Woman

I am not one who trust or believe in astrology stuff, but i saw this on someone's blog and was intrigued... so let's see... betul ka tarak betul...??

You tell me... :)



Pisces Woman

February 20 TO March 20

Slogan: I Understand, therefore I am.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Pisces is the most considerate and compassionate sign out of all the signs of the zodiac. In keeping with those qualities, the Pisces woman is the one who is most willing and able to listen to other people’s problems and, who will offer endless support and comfort.

The Pisces woman’s emotional openness can also become her greatest challenge since the fish swims within the oceans and seas being areas of wide expanses and limitless depths.

The Pisces girl can swim about in an endless sea of emotions with no shore in sight and, as result, can end up absorbing so much emotional energy from her environment that she can become drained of vitality, causing her to withdraw into herself in the manner of a self-imposed exile of solitude.

This is the most mystical of the signs and the Pisces girl is aware that there is an invisible world; as result she can often feel overly burdened by the restrictions and responsibilities of the practical realities of the life in which she lives.

It is not uncommon for some Pisces women to endeavour to overcome the pressures of everyday life through forms of addiction. These girls can be related to the Fish that swim downstream.

The alternative, are the Fish who swim upstream, represented by those Pisces girls who take a path in life that brings them consciously into contact with their deep spiritual nature.

Such woman can be found working, or involved with, charities and/or organizations of a distinctly humanitarian orientation.

MONEY & FINANCES:

The Pisces woman is generous and sensual by nature and, she likes to indulge in the pleasures of life.

She is usually so open, generous and giving to her friends and partners that at times, she can overlook to provide amply for her own needs.

Irrespective however, Pisces is a very resourceful sign and one of the names for Pisces is “the sign of hidden resources.” The Pisces girl therefore will generally discover numerous ways in order to support and sustain herself.

The Pisces woman can be very shrewd at bringing riches to the surface be it some auction bargain, antique piece or even the valuable talents of another person.

The Pisces girl can achieve financial security when she can establish and develop a sound outlook toward financial structure and a savings.

For many Pisces however, this might prove to somewhat of a challenge.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

A relationship with a Pisces woman can be a deep emotional experience and, one with a personality that is of ever-shifting moods and feelings.

The Pisces woman is the complete romantic and one who is known to sacrifice everything for love

She can at times prove astounding in identifying and knowing the most delicate aspects of our feelings and, at other times appear to withdraw from sight so that one might ponder on who exactly is this woman with whom I am living, and sharing my life with.

The Pisces woman can be quite an enigma since the more you try to characterize her, then the more elusive she becomes.

Irrespective, she is a very kind, thoughtful, and devoted person who will usually always do her best to be a supportive and nurturing individual.

The Pisces girl will relate well with those of signs Cancer and Scorpio.

Taurus and Capricorn can often provide a happy environment and, those of the Libra sign can prove to be very sweet, romantic, and idealistic

Aries, Leo, Virgo, Gemini, Aquarius, and Sagittarius can prove to be the most intense challenges for the Pisces woman.

March 18 Birthday

YOUR SIGN - Pisces

YOUR ELEMENT - Water

YOUR RULERS - Neptune Mars

The Astrological Interpretation

As a March 18 Pisces you are thoroughly honest person and will you look for, and expect receive truth and honesty in any of your potential partners in life.

To you “Beauty is truth and truth beauty” so that you are also someone who is very likely to love and appreciate the arts.

The March 18 has the ability to express their creative urges with an extremely strong and influential release of energy.

However, once a creative project or enterprise, whether it be at your work or in a personal relationship, is finished and over, then it is essential that you not remain and continue beyond the point your productivity.

It is your responsibility to recognize the point at when this creative conclusion occurs and to then assess the manner in which you can withdraw and leave the situation both comfortably and with grace.

Once you have successfully withdrawn into yourself, then take the time to rest up and to wait for that next creative urge to crystallize.

Never push or rush yourself. Remember that your greatest strength lies in your own understanding of your own recurring movements.

The March 18 enjoys music and dance and, since these are but two activities that are based on a structured rhythm, it is something that will provide you with an immense sense of appreciation, and personal enjoyment.

The March 18 is a seeker of wisdom and one who holds a great interested in nature.

They generally have a simple and easy-going faith in life, in its rhythms and, they enjoy a very skilled ability that allows them to share their knowledge with others.

Irrespective of how intense you may study you can derive simple satisfaction from those every day pleasures that will tend to limit any tendency toward moodiness.

A symbol for you is a red triangle with an open circle in the centre.

A perfect gift for a March 18 Pisces would be a bound volume of poetry and, it would be particularly so, if it came in the form of a collection of some of the great Romantic from such poets as Wordsworth, Keats or Shelley.

When it comes to the workplace, people born on this day of March 18 can have a somewhat split personality.

In their home environment they may relax with a glass of wine and a good book, at their work or office however, the energy of the “Strength” card in the tarot can become apparent.

This particular element is that of leadership energy and this can be an excellent quality in management and in other leadership positions.

To augment this talent, try carrying a piece of tiger-eye about you, or alternately, a piece of angelica will help you to be a little more compassionate.

On the home front, the March 18 may graduate through various different collecting periods and your main criteria in this activity will centre upon beauty and colour.

You may appreciate a variety of colours in the form of woodcuts or coloured glass. Amethyst-coloured glass could be of special appeal to you.

A bed that sits high off the ground will give you that sensation and feeling of safety within your bedroom, and a bedstead of curved metal design that incorporates some interesting shapes would be of appeal to your nature.

Think about incorporating some form of ornament bedroom that involves reticulating water.

A fountain for example, the sound of the moving water will prove a soothing for your sleep.

The March 18 is one who really likes luxuriating at the end of the day.

In order to feel really pampered therefore, why not coax your partner to give you a relaxing massage using scented massage oils that appeal to your senses.

In your outdoor scenario, your garden should feature night-blooming plants that you can look upon at the times of the full moon.

You can find it a particular pleasure to view your fertile garden area when it is under the light of the moon.

Fragrant water lily is a flower of particular appeal to those of a March 18 birth date.

Your special magic numbers are: 3 and 6.

The eighteenth day of the third month reduces to three and the number three endows the gift of enjoying simple pleasures.

As a March 18 you have the facility to see beauty and to get great joy from ordinary day life.

The simple things in life such as sunsets, rainbows and gleaming raindrops that settle and hang from flowers and vegetation after a recent rainfall.

You can derive as much enjoyment from the singing of the birds as other folk might from the music of an orchestra.

March 18 is the course of taking joy from the gift of an ordinary day and, because of your warmth and efficiency, the transforming of a simple transaction into a touching memory.

The magic of this day of March 18 renders the soul mindful that every act in life has the potential to be sacred.

For you, the stones of emerald and diamond and are the gems that will remind you of the precious and priceless potential of everyday things about you

The seventy-eighth day of the year reduces to six, and the number six is the number of beauty as expressed in the immeasurable exquisiteness and beauty of a snowflake.

Try building a sculpture in snow, or bake some bread, and savour its texture and aroma.

source: http://www.pisceswoman.net/

Chocolate topping for cake

Recipe given to me by Norlinda. Thks babe!

100gm cooking Choc
50ml whip cream
1 sudu teh butter

Caranya : double boil semua sekali pastu siram atas kek

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

tried it at home, and true enough it was quite simple.


I didnt actually know what double boil mean. What it is - boil in a separate pot, with boiling water at the bottom
Break the chocolate bar in smaller pieces to make it easier to melt

Stir whilst it is slowly melting



Tadaaa!!!! ready to be poured on top of the cake..

Must Try

Bahan-bahan:
2 ketul isi ikan pari
1 tangkai bunga kantan - belah 4
1-2 tangkai daun kesum
1-2 helai daun kunyit
4-5 sudu besar cili kering kisar
4-5 ulas bawang merah kecik*
2-3 ulas bawang putih*
1 tangkai serai*
1 inci lengkuas*
1 inci halia*
Garam dan gula secukup rasa

Cara-cara:-

• Sapukansedikit garam pada ikan pari, letak ikan pari diatas aluminium foilyang dilapik dengan daun kunyit, tabur bunga kantan, daun kesum, dan ketepikan.
• Untuksambal, blend bahan bertanda * dan tumis hingga wangi dan masukkan ciliboh, garam dan gula. Tumis lagi sampai garing dan siram ke atas ikanpari tadi.
• Balut ikan pari dengan kemas dan perap 2-3 jam dalam peti ais.I perap agak lama dari tengahari, 2 jam sebelum berbuka baru bakar.Bakar selama 25 minit dalam oven.
• Masa menghidang perahkan limau nipis/kasturi.

Courtesy of lady_on_earth from cari

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Bawal Singgang

During this puasa month, looks like I am steadily decreasing my big fat bum, and I tot this recipe could help more as well:

Ikan Bawal Putih Kukus Pindang

Bahan-Bahan:
600 gm ikan bawal putih
10 gm kobis jeruk
10 gm lobak merah
2 sudu besar minyak masak
1 sudu kecil serbuk kunyit
0.5 cm halia 2 biji pelam jeruk
1 biji cili merah
1 keping cendawan hitam kering
Sedikit lada sulah
Garam secukup rasa

Cara:
Bersihkan ikan,lumurkan dengan garam & lada sulah.Cili, lobak merah, kobis jeruk, halia, cendawan hitam, buah pelam dihiris halus. Panaskan 2 sudu makan minyak masak & goreng bahan-bahan yang dihiris tadi beberapa saat. Tuangkan bahan-bahan yang telah digoreng ke atas ikan & kukus hingga masak (15-20 minit).

Source: http://resepi.mesra.net/Detailed/69.shtml

The Expendables

The expendables to my eyes was just so so. What made it bearable was only because I enjoy watching John Statham.

The movie wasnt so bad, but I wont rate it anything more than 3/5. There are some entertaining part, but I thought the jokes were pretty lame.

The Expendables is actually a remake, but I havent seen the original. So I am not at liberty to say if it was any better or less.

Anyway. Overall its not a big loss if you missed it, but nevertheless if you are already at the movies and you already watched Salt, then just go for it.

Salt

This is actually a belated one. We've seen the movies two weeks back. Been busy and hadnt had time to give a review of it. I still dun really hv time, so i'll keep it short.
I have always had mixed feeling of Jolie. I kinda like her movies, but at the same time I thought she is overacting. So i wasnt really expecting Salt to be very good, more so after seeing the review it just looked like any other flick movie.
Nevertheless i was glad we actually watched it anyway cos it turned out to be quite good. Unfortunately i cant tell u the gist of the movie any more than summarised by the traillers and movie synopsis, cos if i did, then i'd be telling spoilers and it wont be as interesting when u watch it. Anyhoot thumbs up to this one, i'd give it 4 over 5, and highly recommend u see it!

reddie.....

Checkout the new look .... :)

one day to go...

and I am still 1.5KG away...

and to make it worst, I was h.u.n.g.r.y and was not content with the 2 slices of bread I had. Therefore...

and you know what, i just realised that i actually am fond of lemongrass.. I never knew that it is the lemongrass that made me liked tomyam, masak kuning and others. The flavor is just something that suits my tastebud.

This is lunch. I made a deal with Rizal , if I loose 2kg during his absence, I'm gonna get something .... Hehe apalagi, so dengan berkobar-kobar i've skipped bfast, and now eating light lunch. And tis arvo i plan to jog.. Then swim to cool off... Haha see how

I need a 'Tastera'

you know what people should invent next? a Tastera

A device that can capture taste. I had the best asam pedas daging today, cooked to perfection, just the way I like it. Its been ages since I had asam pedas daging, I think the last time I had it was when I was in my teens. Uwan sometimes make it, and to date, I havent been able to find any place / anyone who could beat uwan's Asam Pedas daging.

Of course I have asked uwan for the recipe, and of course I have attempted it. And each time, it became more failure than the last. The only way to actually learn it, I guess is by buying all the ingredient and make uwan physically show me. Which is a rather difficult, cos I hardly get to see and lepak with uwan these days. And when I do actually have the time to see the ol lady, I cant be expecting her to do chores. On top of that, Ayah cant take meat, so to cook it in my parents house is kinda unlikely. Kesian Ayah if he cant eat it. But I think I will have to make the effort. Maybe one of these days.

Back to what I was saying earlier, there I was at the restaurant having the Asam Pedas Daging, just the way uwan made it, I was thinking desperately how great it would have been if there was a device that can tell me what is the ingredient to that dish. I bet, if such device exist, it would beat Ipod, DSLR or iPad easily. It would have been easily been voted as the coolest gadget on earth. Imagine, to just be able to dip a device into a dish, and bam.... all the ingredients are listed, with EXACT measurements!. How cool is that..

But of course such item does not exist, and so I had to just resort to examining each of the visible item in there. What I can deduce, ada lemongrass, ada daun limau, blended cili (presumably cili merah), ada rasa masam2 sikit which I think could be from assam jawa. That is all that I could surmise. How much to put, how long to cook, what other to put, all is a mystery to me.

So today, I made a promise to myself, one of these day, I will take leave, and I will get uwan to teach me how to make it!!!! Let us pray that it will be a reality soon and I can capture the recipe here for the benefit of all.

Till then..... sabar sabar aje la... sigh........

Sigh.....

UPDATE: I have found a recipe on the net, though it is for tetel, I think meat would substitue just fine. Will try it one day

http://mycikgumas.blogspot.com/2010/03/belajar-memasak-asam-pedas-daging.html

My korean CDs

 

My collection of korean cds!! specially brought in from Seoul

The Backup Plan & Despicable Me

Last week we watched two movies: The backup Up plan and Despicable Me.

The Backup Plan
I didnt have high expectation on this movie cos many reviews rated this movie badly. Having no other movies to watch, we decided to just go for it.

In my opinion, the movie wasnt that bad. I didnt like the beginning part, cos I thought JLo was being over perasan a bit. Granted, I loved how she looked tall and slim in the movie, made me wished I am back in my ol' size..

Thank God the movie moving along for the better as it progressed. It wasnt totally funny, but there are few amusing scenes.

Overall, the movie is quite ok to me. Maybe I'll rate it 5.5 over 10.



Despicable Me
Watched this one last saturday. I still cant quite decide if I liked this movie or not. For a movie classified in comedy category, this one didnt really tickle me. Sure, there were few funny parts, but I thought not enough.

My rating? erm, 4 over 10 kot.

iPad... where art thou?

I want an iPad!!!!!!!

Hisham came over last weekend and I asked him to bring along his iPad. Best sungguh jadi Hisham ni, ada je dapat all sorts of sponsored gadget. Maybe I should ask him to sell it to me. But then, I need to save money.... Hmm. Camana tu.

Anyway, after seeing and holding it meself, I was surprised to find that it is smaller than what I thought. For some reason I actually thought that it is like an A4 size. Anyway, so it is slightly smaller than I thought but it is still a good size. Especially to browse internet and read books. I didnt try playing game cos he didnt have any games on his. So I cant say much of how it would be though I have a feeling that it would be even better than ipod touch.

The beauty of ipad is that you can actually connect using 3G and wifi. So if I have a sim, I can practically access from anywhere. Even at Yusof, on the road, anywhere. Lovely!

Invader!!

Sorry folks. I wanted to blog tonight but my notebook has been taken hostage. Sigh.

Carwash

This is my car wash shop