Music Tree

Sometime ago, John gave us a can labelled Music Tree. According to the instructions, it contained seed(s) and planting medium. All we had to do was open the top and bottom of the can and add water.


[Instant plant: Just add water]


[Close-up of the seed: Looks like a mini chickpea (kacang kuda)... don't know if there're more inside the planting medium]

It has a shelf-life and since it is going to expire soon, we started adding water today. Interestingly, there must be some special chemical in the planting medium because the whole can felt warm after adding the water. The seed is supposed to germinate in a few days. Will post updates.

Fast Food

This past week, we have been having unique fast-cooking dinners. These photos just cannot do justice to how good they actually smell and taste :o).

On Tuesday (23 January 2007), we had kiu nyuk-flavoured chicken, claypot style. Firstly, a sauce consisting of finely chopped garlic, five spice powder and red fermented beancurd (tau joo in Hokkien or lam yee in Hakka/Cantonese) was prepared. Chicken chunks were then marinated in the sauce and later put into a pot of cooking rice. When the rice is done, so is the chicken. Voila!


[Kiu Nyuk-flavoured Chicken, Claypot style: Can you smell the kiu nyuk aroma?]

On Wednesday and Thursday (24 & 25 January 2007), we had fried macaroni with pepper-flavoured chicken chunks.


[Fried Macaroni with chicken and potatoes]

Today, we had macaroni with tuna and cheese.


[Macaroni with Tuna and Cheese: Fishy, creamy and tangy]

On another note, I am impelled to announce that Angie started marking exam scripts yesterday (Thursday). Enough said.

Laksa From All Over

Last Saturday (20 January 2007), we had dinner at the Laksa Shack in Queensbay Mall. They served different kinds of laksa from, almost, all over Malaysia... and Singapore even.


[Sarawak Laksa]


[Singapore Laksa Lemak]


[Ais Kacang a.k.a. ABC Laksa Shack style]

On the whole, we had expected more (in terms of taste) for the price we were paying... almost RM10 per bowl. Having tasted Sarawak laksa before on Sarawakian soil, we still think the Sarawak laksa in Sarawak tastes better. Afterall, will you eat Penang char kuay teow fried in Ipoh?

Dinner at Yann's

This evening we had dinner at a Malay-Thai food stall near the Gelugor post office. We had Hot Basil Beef Fried Rice, Tumeric Chicken Fried Rice and 2 glasses of iced lime tea. Cost us RM9.90.


[Hot Basil Beef Fried Rice]


[Tumeric Chicken Fried Rice]

We frequent this stall because the food is delicious and the portions are quite generous. The Tumeric Chicken Fried Rice tasted delicate and fragrant, while the Hot Basil Beef Fried Rice was really hot with black pepper sauce and cili padi!

Mighty Macro

Last Monday (15 January 2007), we bought ourselves a new lens: Zuiko (Olympus) 35mm macro F3.5, magnification is 1x. On a 35mm camera, this is equivalent to 70mm focal length and 2x magnification.


[Our new Zuiko 35mm macro lens]


[Test shot: Green beans]

Dining at the Oasis

Firstly, Happy New Year 2007! We have just managed to recover from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, and are still nursing what's left of a very nasty cough and cold, which made us very cranky over the holidays.


[Christmas Stollen from Tesco: A yummy and rich German fruit cake laced with marzipan... we had this for Christmas lunch]


[Our New Year Deco]

This morning saw us at the Little Sisters of the Poor for the Golden Anniversary Mass of Sr. Jeanne... we were involved in the choir. We had a nice buffet lunch after that.

For dinner, we decided to explore the Tanjung Bungah area and ended up at the Oasis Beer Garden and Cafe just opposite the Copthorne Hotel. It's a pleasant place for dining with tables in the garden. We ordered a set dinner which consist of mushroom soup, "oriental" chicken chop, jelly and coffee (RM12.90), a chicken cordon bleu (RM8.50), and fresh star fruit juice (RM3.50).


[Dining at the Oasis]

There's a Papa Pizza restaurant a few doors away from Oasis. Hmm... may try that next time.