Ramblings and Musings

They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions. True!

No matter how prepared you are for staying abroad and living away from home/parents, nothing ever prepares you for the cravings that just hit you all of a sudden. Living overseas, there’s no way you’re going to be able to get something authenthic. Trust me. I’ve searched high and low.

So, I sated my cravings the only way I knew how…

The hard way.

I learnt to frikkin make them myself.

Here’s some examples of my culinary adventures! I’ll be honest and say not all the dishes I made tasted as good as they look! But hey, I guess practice makes perfect!

Durian Pulut. Smells like a B*tch (yes, even to me), but tastes divine.

Durian paste from leftover durians. De-seeded and pushed through a sieve. Pure durian essence!

Tong Yuen. Such a pain to roll the balls!

Emperor Chicken (帝皇鸡)

Rainbow Trout Nyonya Assam Curry

There is only so much stupidity a person can take. Stupidity has the corrosive nature which abrades at a person’s patience until it is worn and turns compassion dead. After which, that poor scarred soul can no longer feel sympathy or pain, only angst.

I  am subject to stupidity on a daily basis.

It is sometimes so painful, I feel like smashing faces in with a saucepan. Preferably a hot saucepan.

I work with stupid people. Not one, not two, but three stupid people.

And not just any stupid people. Stupid people who are higher up (ie - outrank) than me.

Examples of non-work related conversations.

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Stupid person 1 reads an article about defibrillators being installed in ambulances and laments that it’s a waste of money as only old people have heart attacks.

Me: Not true. Anyone can have a heart attack. My 26 yr old friend died of a heart attack.
Stupid person 1: Awwwww….. did he die?
Me: ….

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Out of the blue,

Stupid person 1: Raymond, who’s the Maharaja of China?

………….

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As part of work, there’s a course on General Insurance - what it is, what it does, and how it works.  As part of the course, we discuss natural disasters, like tsunamis.

Stupid person 2: Oh! I know what tsunamis are. They’re earthquakes!

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Having chinese tea with my other colleague, Stupid Person 2 walks into the office kitchen, sees us making a cup of chinese tea, and declares the following.

Stupid person 2: You know, Tea is Chrysanthemum. I drank some tea the other day and found that it was made with Chrysanthemum leaves. So, tea is Chrysanthemum.

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I can’t give examples of Stupid Person 3 because they’re work related and can get very technical, the irony of which would be lost to all you non-finance people.

I am forced to work closely with Stupid Person 2 and 3.

Don’t even get me started on work related stupidity with these people…

/wrist

*rage*

Last Saturday, I was thrown a belated ’surprise’ birthday party. I was already in the gag. What I didn’t expect was a gift!!! My friends decided to surprise me with an Ice Cream Machine!! OH YEAHH!!!

The Breville ICM15, so cool, it only has 1 button - On/Off! Can’t go wrong, baby! Can’t go wrong.

2 secs after unwrapping it, they immediately blurted, "So, when are you making ice-cream?"

I’ll see what I can do…

Thanks a bunch guys!

It’s a long weekend this week. Today’s a public holiday in Australia, Labour Day.  I’ve been spending this entire week, literally cooking.

SATURDAY

On Saturday, I made 4 loh mai kais (glutinous rice with Chicken - a Malaysian dish I used to have back home). Yes, only 4. Was trying a different method of making it, so I made as little as possible in case it came out terrible (Turned out ok! I’m pleased).

My friend came to pick me up just as I finished making it (I was having dinner at a friend’s place). At my friend’s place, I helped make pork and chives dumplings for dinner. I stuffed myself with about 30-40 dumplings. I got back at about 1am, but I slept at about 2am as I had to clean up after making all that loh mai kais.

SUNDAY

The next day, I woke up at 8 am. Don’t ask me why, I just normally do. Couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to cook some more. I made Kuih Serimuka (it’s the one with glutinous rice and pandan egg custard, one of the Malaysian snacks I used to love). In my state of grogginess, I added too much water to my glutinous rice, and it came out very very soggy. Meh. Still edible though. Since the rice was too soggy, it was not firm enough to be the base. Instead of standing it on the glutinous rice, I stand it on the egg custard. Lol. :P 

Later that day, I went out on a picnic with some friends at the Centennial Park (near my place), where I rented a bike and cycled around the park several times (takes about 20-25 mins to cycle around it! It’s huge!). I realise it has been a long time since I last rode a bicycle, cause now my fanny hurts. :<  My friend came back to my place to take a shower, and there she ate one of my loh mai kais.

After she left, I decided to cook again, so I made Kuih Lapis (Layered Mung Bean cake, also a Malaysian favourite). Yes, I have sudden urges. No, I’m not pregnant.

Btw, we finished all 4 loh mai kais on Saturday itself, so  I had to make more.

MONDAY

Today, I made 8 more loh mai kais. But, I’m getting a little sick of loh mai kais. But no matter! They can be stored in the freezer!

(Left Picture -  Kuih Lapis on the top, with Kuih Serimuka on the bottom)

(Picture Below - Loh Mai Kai)

So, how did you guys spend your weekend?

EDIT: Lol. Forgot to mention. There was also an incident with my kuih lapis. The recipe specifically used an 8" tray, but I only had a 10" tray. This resulted in my layers being thinner usual, which led to a very short kuih lapis. I brought the Kuih Serimuka and Kuih Lapis to work yesterday; the Malaysians at work attacked them! (Except the Kuih Serimuka, which was too soggy. At the end of the day, there was 2 pieces of Kuih Serimuka left). I’ll definitely have to re-make my Kuih Serimuka… and my Kuih Lapis when I get a proper 8" pan.

“Hi Koko!” my 13 year old sister chirruped. (‘koko’ is Hokkien for big brother).

“Hi there! How’re you?” I replied.

“I’m a little upset, to be honest,” said she.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Dad’s being very unreasonable. Can you talk some sense into him?”

There was a brief silence as I took in what my sister was saying. Usually, my father was the most level-headed person in the whole family. If there ever was a sensible one, it would be my dad.

“How so?” I asked after the pause.

“He won’t buy me a facial wash.”

“Hmm… dad isn’t usually like this. I’m sure dad must have a reason for that…”

There was another pause as I contemplated what my sister said. That did not sound like my father at all. My father had never said no to something as trivial as this before.

“He’s being so unreasonable now. Go talk some sense into him please.”

“Ok. How much is this facial wash?”

“Six hundred dollars. But that’s for a year’s supply,” said she without the slightest hint of hesitation. “It’s called Murad, and my classmate (singular) is using it. It’s very good cause she has a good complexion, and sh–…”

“I don’t think so!” I snapped. It was all I could do from blurting unwanted expletives.

“Am I the only person who can see reason here?” said my sister, flaring up. “Why is everyone around me so unreasonable? GOD!”

With that, she hung up.

Ahh… to be 13 again.

Remind me to make a mental note to spank my sister when I get back.

I know people read my blogs. But how many?

If you have, please leave a comment so I know you have. Thanks!

Several years ago, I read an article in Malaysia about this young driver who took an illegal turn on a busy intersection sometime in the night. He must have been speeding, it must have been dark, or he must have been intoxicated; either way, he did not see a couple on a motorbike at the intersection. He ran over them, killing them.

The couple were 17 year old sweethearts who were betrothed and had just announced their intention to get married to their families. She was an aspiring singer who sang at a local nightclub, he was an apprentice mechanic. They had planned to get married, go for their honeymoon, and was said to have wanted to start a family. They had their whole world before them.

Just another one of those tragic accidents, I thought.

What I vividly recall was reading an article the following day or so about the driver.

The young driver was in jail awaiting a court hearing but begged the police to bring him to the funeral. Handcuffed, he was escorted to the funeral where the two grieving families were performing a ritual to marry the two souls so that even in death, the sweethearts would still be together.

Upon reaching, he got on his knees and groveled up to the girl’s parents who were burning offerings for their daughter. Still on his knees, he straightened himself to face them and begged for their forgiveness. The tearful father slapped him 3 times and said that he would never be able to forgive him for the mistake and that he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. I don’t recall if the girl’s mother said anything, but after the other parents had their say, the driver groveled out backwards (so as not to have his back turned to the victims’ parents, a gesture of deep respect) and was escorted back to prison.

The picture in the newspaper of the handcuffed driver on his knees in front of the girl’s tearful parents will remain etched in my memory for a long time.

Something about that article struck a chord in me. What the driver did, going to face the parents of the victim whose lives he inadvertently took, to me, spoke volumes about his character. It was not easy, doing what he did.

Would you be able to look into the eyes of the family members of the person you wronged and ask for forgiveness that way? Personally, I don’t think I would have it in me to do that.

Whoever this driver is, and wherever he may be now, I commend him for his bravery, integrity and accountability. May the souls of his victims find happiness together in the fields of gold…

Three men went to a hotel, but the hotel had one room left. They agreed to share the room. The room was $30, so they split it by 3 and paid $10 each.

As they were checking in, a bellboy appeared and said that there was an error. The room only cost $25, not $30; he had the $5 with him. All 3 men took a dollar each and gave the remaining $2 to the bellboy as a tip.

The next day, one of the men went back and told his wife what happened. Said the wife, "You each paid $9, that comes up to $27. The bellboy tip was $2. That makes $29. Where’s the remaining $1?"

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Can you work this out?

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EDIT : No one bothered to answer… so I take it no one cares? No answer for j00 all then.

I’m going to Tetsuyas! I’m going to Tetsuyas! I’m going to Tetsuyas! I can’t frikkin wait! www.tetsuyas.com

For those who don’t know this, Tetsuyas is listed as one of the top ten restaurants in the world. Don’t ask me where, it was published somewhere. A food critic from the States came, tried it, and flew back raving about it.

The restaurant only seats 55 people and is always booked out. To get this weeknight dinner, we booked it in October last year. If we wanted to have dinner, it would be a six month wait.

The dinner itself takes 3 hours! It’s a 10 course degustation menu and costs A$185 per head.

A lot of people fall off their chair when they hear the price, but many of my friends who went all agree – it’s worth every cent.

I’ve been dreaming Tetsuyas for the past month, and the day has finally come! Tomorrow! Fine dining at its best.

For me, fine dining is an experience worth trying. There is nothing more sensual than satisfying your palate, to put it bluntly -tantalising sensations you never knew you could feel. So what if I have to live off instant noodles for the rest of the month?

Tetsuyas… it’s only a dream away. I’ll tell you how it is tomorrow.

PS – In case you wanna know, I’m going with my brother.

I was preparing to dye my friend’s hair.

None of you were correct. I suppose, among all the answers, Joanne was the closest ("Wearing Gloves!").

My internet is currently capped and I haven’t installed photoshop yet, so I can’t upload the photos showing me dyeing my friend’s hair. I’ll edit my post and add the photos when my bandwidth cap is lifted.

Joanne : Send me your address please. As promised, you can expect something in the mail.