Birthdays to remember

Birthdays to remember

I went for a 1 year old birthday party today. It has been sometime since a kids party. Don't kids birthday parties just bring so much joy to one? It seems as if as we grow older, we forget how to have so much fun. With a simple birthday party, yet quite a happening one. The clown, the balloons, the ice cream, the games, the decorations, the funny parents running after their little ones, and the cake.

Yes the cake! Do you remember how your first birthday cake looked like? Wasn't it the best one you've had? Well at least for me, it was the nicest one i've had. It was lavender with purple flowers on it. On my 16th birthday, my parents actually tried to re-live that and yeah, the cake looked similar. But isn't it funny how as we grow older our birthday cakes just become dull. The cake I had today was this 4 floors noah's ark cake filled with loads of animals on it with two outstanding giraffes topping the cake. That was a lovely cake, which was very hard to cut as everyone was saying how beautiful it was that no one wanted to cut it! Think about it, as we grow older, our cakes are not usually so exciting as our first birthday ones were.

A party with kids running here and there, just everywhere, playing games, blowing bubbles, amazed at the clown's tricks, eating cake, rushing for the ice cream and torturing the poor dog. Those were the good old days. Today it is very much different. Yes, we have the kids running everwhere playing games, and blowing bubbles, but there is the get together to bully the clown because he looks silly, smashing cakes, scared of the dog and not want ice cream. The little things from my observation.

Although i must say, they still know how to have fun. They still play games my great grandmother used to play which still brings so much thrill in their faces. Musical chairs, Pass the parcel, Statue dance, newspaper lover, and the famous chicken dance! Games that have been here for centuries. Games that still bring smiles to faces. Oh how I wish I was still a kid and when I say kid I mean 5 years and below. At least then you are entitled to no rules what so over.

So how come we dont still have parties with these games? It may not seem so happening to say pass the parcel, but just watch the smiles on people faces when the parcel is being passed. Its complete irony on how people can say "oh not another kids party-not happening lar!" Well i guess that is for you to decide. A kids party seems like the perfect party to have in my opinion. Re-live your childhood! You cant turn back time, but you can certainly re-live it!

Magic Trolleys

Magic trolleys

I dragged myself into the supermarket forcing myself to keep up with my mother and sister's pace. It was hard as it was either they were after the bullet train, or it was just me being paranoid of the fact that we were here to shop. Shopping is just not my thing. Some people just love too shop. They don't even have to have money to shop, as they find the thrills still present when they window shop. Well that is just not me. I do not find anything fascinating with shopping. When i need somehing, I go get it at a specified place, even then I would plan ahead on where I have to go, and how long I would take in that shop. Talk about being paranoid yet organised!

I do not usually do the supermarketing. I find that is a mother's job. Although I do know that someday i'll be a mother too, and I would need to do the supermarketing, but hey, there is a long way for that day to come and hopefully in time, we would have for confidence in e-bay supermarketing that it will be a norm to click online for your marketing and have it delivered at your door step. Now that's me dreaming, although i do believe such things already exist.

Well today, was no ordinary day, as I had to shop for groceries. Why? Simply because my mother insisted that I come along as three quaters of the shopping was done for a youth event I was involved in which she volunteered to cook for. So yeah, we were at Tesco. It has been quite sometime since i last set foot in this huge british supermarket.

I decided to stroll along wih the trolley finding much enthusiam in it as the wheels were so smooth that it could just literally take you 100km/h in just 5 mins. It was brilliant. I wondered why they would create such a trolley for housewives( my supermarket ladies)? I remember being a kid sitting in the trolley being pushed around. It was a lot of fun as I had always a seat, and i could pull loads of things that i liked at my reach into the trolley. Actually i never really focused on the buying bit, it was just lots of fun pulling things down when mum was not looking. Pushing this trolley brought back lots of memories from the past, the amount of fun I had tagging along with mum was not so bad after all. Maybe I did enjoy shopping. Maybe i still do...

We spent a whole 2 hours at Tesco filling the trolley with things. Spent a whole lot of money on food, groceries, sun shade, car air freshner, sweat pants, crushed cherry sparkling juice and lots more. Oh, yeah and black pepper roast chicken! Yummy! which we had fo dinner.

This supermarketing was some fun. It did not turn out so bad which i had in mind when i walked into the shop. I tell you those trolleys have some magic dust in it. I makes you want to come back again!

Rainy day blues

Rainy day blues

The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there will be sun! Yes i would certainly like to be a meteorologist for a day after my rainy day incident today.

It is about about 3.30pm, my friend, Jess and I drive to to main block of our college to settle some payments, hoping to get back just in time for law class at 4pm. It was bright and sunny at that time with not a single cloud to be found in the sky. Upon arriving at the main block, we park the car, and walk to the book shop to get some books. When we came out, the sky was dark grey. We had only taken about 2 minutes in the bookshop. For a sky to turn from light blue to grey in just 2 minutes was some irony. We knew at that moment it was going to pour. We had no umbrella nor a book to shelter our head. Thinking we had some time before it came down, we went to settle our payments.

At 3.50 pm we walk out the door of Help University College, only to find it pouring outside. Now the rain was not really our problem. The problem was that we had class starting in 10 minutes and it was all the way in the other block. Lucky for me, i had worn a cold long sleeve sweat shirt with a hood that kept me quite warm. Talking about hoods, i decided to put the hood onto my head and run to the car to get an umbrella like an admirable hero, thinking i would not wet my hair which i had just washed and steamed this morning. Unfortunately for me, my hair got soaked wet, as i had forgotten that my sweat shirt was made out of cotton, and so was my hood. Cotton absorbs water(Duhh..) Yeah i was wet from head to toe. By the time i reached the car, i felt like someone had just poured a bucket of water over my head. My jeans were so wet, it was dripping. I felt so heavy like as if my pants were trying to glue me to the floor so i would not move again. Talk about putting on extra weight. After sitting in the car for about 10 mins, i decided to get out with 2 umbrellas. It was still pouring, but it did not make much of a difference as i was already soaking wet. I get back to Jess. She looks at me standing there like a hero who just returned from war all scruffy and dirty, in my case wet. We decided at that point to forget law class, and head to mc donalds for some hot fries. We make it to mc donalds still soaked, get our fries, and decide to head to Jess' place to dry up. We put up our umbrellas ready to go. Just as we open the door, we could feel the strong wind pushing us back. We got out, and that's when i looked at my friend Jess in desperate help as my umbrella was about to get off my hands as the wind was pushing it off. I was trying my best to hold on to it, that the wind nearly swept me off my feet. That is one of the disadvantages of being slim. You get pushed around by the strong winds.

Jess got hold of the umbrella, we shared one umbrella and walked to the car like ducks. It was such a cold ride home, snacking on the hot french fries we had just bought. My shoes were bubbling. It was filled with water, that it started to pierce itself through the cotton and bubble. It was a rather unusual sight. Want to see that happen? Purchase reebok, and get caught in a storm like this. You would have some thrill just looking at it.

We got to Jess place still soaking. The rain had stopped by then. We dried off, i got a baga-lose shirt to change into which i had lots of fun swimming in and then settled down for a nice hot masala tea, which Jess makes so well.

This is the first day I have ever gotten so wet in the rain that i was literally dripping from head to toe. Never in my life have i gotten so wet in the rain. It was a new experience. A rather thrilling one i would say. Never thought the rain could inspire me to blog.

Next time it starts to pour, don't frown, as you might just have lots of fun!

Ceasar's Salad

Ceasar's Salad

We all have our favourites when it comes to food. My favourite food would be the Classic Ceasar's Salad. Now this is one dish that would make me travel out just to get the best Ceasar's Salad around town. As it stands, TGIFridays hasnt failed to let me down on their Ceasar's Salad. A huge portion but done extremely well. The next time you go to Fridays, and can't decide what to have, be sure to try their Classic Ceasar's Salad. Let me tell you a little about how Ceasar's Salad came about.

The creation of Ceasar's Salad has been attributed to an Italian, Ceasar Cardini, who at the time was a restaurateur in Tijuana, Mexico. According to records, supplies in the Cardini establishment ran short one holiday weekend in 1924. Ceasar experimented and that evening the Ceasar's Salad was born. "Take everything to the table" he said, "and make a ceremony of fixing the salad". Let guests think they're having the specialty of the house". Later, it was voted " the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in fifty years" by the International Society of Epicures in Paris*.

For purists, ceasar salads are made from simple, fresh ingredients, and contain fresh garlic (used to flavor the oil), cold, dried heart of romaine leaves, fresh ground pepper, a dash of salt, imported olive oil, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce (where the anchovy flavor came from), homemade croutons and Parmesan cheese. The cheese is usually grated in front of you. More upscale restaurants may prepare caesar salads right at your table (tableside), although these have been more difficult to find.

Of course over the years, ceasar's salad has been improvised to meet our taste buds. My favourite mix of ceasar salad is when its topped with bacon bits, turkey ham, cajun chicken with olives. Now that's rich and yummy!

For those who want the ingredients to a simple but tasty ceaser's salad, here you go:

INGREDIENTS
Baby Romaine and Lolll Rossa leaves
Cherry Tomato
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Croutons
Bacon bits, or cajun chicken, or turkey ham, or just mixed them all together
Olives

For dressing:
3 medium sized eggs, 2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic, 3 anchovies
1 tsp worcestershire sauce, 2 tblsp lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 200ml extra virgin olive oil

For Croutons:
6 slices french baguette, 20g butter and garlic

Method:
1. Dressing:Using a food processor mix the eggs, garlic, anchovies, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and mustard until smooth. Finish off by folding in the olive oil to produce creamy dressing.
2. Put the leaves into a salad bowl and toss the leaves gingerly with the dressing. Mix well and top it with the croutons, bacon, tomato, olives, and parmesan cheese.
3. Serve immediately.

Well thats done for today. A simple subject to tickle your tastebuds. Enjoy!

Not What it used to be!

Not What it used to be!

One of the least romantic days of the year is Valentine's Day. Yes you heard me correctly. The majority of men act like robots, purchasing flowers and chocolate for their sweethearts because that is what everyone else is doing. Many people celebrate the day out of obligation rather than celebration. Today we celebrate valentines day with roses, chocolates, and candle light dinners, but is it really what Valentine's day is all about? To answer that, let me take you through the history of Valentine's day, how this special day came about.

This is an article i found on the net:(read on)

Valentine's Day- Not what it used to be!

February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop. For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his sexual companion during the remaining year. In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes. Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded. During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since. Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name. The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time. Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.

END

So that is how Valentine's day came about. Now it is rather romantic for a guy to give the girl he loves roses, chocolates, or maybe even take her out for dinner, but don't do it because you have to do it. Do it to celebrate this day! Most girls would love to be pampered every other day. Going out of the way is an act of love done only if the heart chooses to do it, if not it's just another obligation. So since we have all made Valentine's day a must celebrate day, then celebrate it with true love! Make your loved one's feel special on this one day, but remember do it out of LOVE!

A couple i know pretty well, on a long distance relationship, celebrated valentine's day talking to each other on the phone while eating ice-cream in an ice-cream parlour. Neither of them had spent a penny on the other, but they both spent loads of their time on the phone with each other. Don't make valentine's day all about money, just do it out of love. What ever it may be, making someone feel special is always a good thing.

Go out there and show you care, blog love-birds! Make it the most romantic day!

(dedicated to Ralph, thank you for teaching me so much)

Birthday Strudle

Birthday Strudle

It is November 9th, 2004! What is so significant of this date? Well, it is Jessica, one of my bestest best friends' 18th birthday. Since it's her birthday, i am gonna dedicate this blog to her.

It's 3.15pm, Jessica walks towards Ali Maju (the hang out mamak at college), stops and turns and gives me that "oh you shouldn't have planned!" stare. Inside sits all her friends filling three tables, and on the table a foot long blueberry strudle with a candle. Yummy! That was our cake for Jessica, as there weren't any good bakerys around, so we thought of a rather messy idea of getting a foot long strudle from Strudles. Well its the thought that counts.

Take a look at the delicious foot long strudle waiting to be eaten.



This is a shot of Ashvina trying to cut the strudle neatly for a nice share



This is a picture of Jess and her friends at the strudle cutting. Jess is the third from the left.



Well thats Jessica's strudle cutting ceremony!
Happy Birthday Jess! Enjoy 18!

Laksa

Laksa

There are some food experiences in this world that should only really be enjoyed in their place of origin. If they were to be prepared for you anywhere else they would lose that marvellous sense of place that they evoke so well. They belong in that place, they taste best in that place, and they should be eaten only in that place.

For a Malaysian, laksa must be dished- up piping hot in a crowded, noisy coffee shop in your neighbourhood area (also known as tasty 'mamaking')

I start my blog today with a thought i had while eating laksa at the 'Laksa Shack'. I must admit, it is my favourite Malaysian dish. So what is the big deal with Laksa? After doing some research, i find it so amazing how laksa is used to represent Malaysia, united by its 3 major races.

Now Laksa is a typical Malaysian dish as its ingredients are contributed from its 3 major races, which are the Malays, the Chinese, and the Indians. If you take a good look into your bowl of laksa waiting to be eaten, you would notice that it has large quantity of ingredients in it. Let us first start with the noodles. Noodles is originated from the chinese as the curry is an Indian thing. To top this dish with the large quantity of spices, we have different types of malay spices which was a big favourite among the Nyonyas. There you have it, how a delicious simple dish of laksa can represent the citizens of Malaysia.

Today we have loads of different types of laksas. Some of which are Curry Laksa, Assam Laksa, Sarawak Laksa, Bali Laksa, Johor Laksa, Kelantan Laksa, Laksa Kedah, Laksa Patani, Penang Laksa and lots more!

Has anyone ever thought of creating your own type of laksa, garnished with all your favourite ingredients? It would be quite fun to here all your crazy ideas, so do post them! As for now, im going to have some laksa fun in the kitchen.

Laters