Was it worth it?

I began to dread the fact that I agreed with mama the night before to go to the Pasar Tani, Shah Alam at 7am. It didn't help that I only fell asleep at around 4 am. I was so engrossed in this book that came highly recommended by mama entitled 'Fragrant Rice'. Initially I told myself that I would only read a couple of pages. Well, those couple of pages ended up being 117 pages. Hahahahha...Talk about a page turner. Anyways, as mama knocked on my door, I was so tempted to cancel our plans and continue on sleeping. But then I thought, what the heck, I should just get my lazy behind up and go. Mama has already before that told me about this famous 'gerai' at the Pasar Tani that sold 'Sup Gearbox'. Being me, I can't say no to food.
On our way to the Pasar Tani (tried to capture the sunrise but obviously failed. hahhaha....Sunrise behind coconut tree)

So off we went to the Pasar Tani. We got there at around 7.20 or so and got a good parking spot. Oh I forgot to mention that one of the main reasons why we wanted to get there early was to secure a good parking spot. If you arrive later, there is a possibility that you would have to park far and walk for quite a bit.

Mama at one of many vegetables store. Love the petai hanging in the background :)

The Pasar Tani sold pretty much everything. They had plants, clothes, fruits, vegetables, the freshest seafood, chicken, beef, lamb, etc. As well as my all time favourite, the reason I am up so early on a Sunday morning... Cooked food. Yummmm...Roti canai, nasi lemak, kuih-muih, fried koay teow, bihun, keropok lekor, roast lamb and chicken, and the list goes on. I was salivating and was spoilt for choice! In the end this was what mama and I settled for: the famous 'sup gearbox', soto ayam and nasi lemak. hehehhehhe... Yes, when people dine with me we tend to over order. hahhahaha... Food was good and I was stuffed. And no, we did not finish all the food in one sitting. We ended up 'bungkus-ing' leftovers from the soto and sup gearbox.

Sup Gearbox (RM13.00and worth every penny). They even give you a fat straw to suck out the bone marrow...sinfully delicious!!! The happy faces of yours truly when she is presented with oh! glorious food...

The reason to love breakfast! Nasi lemak with fried egg, kelempung, daging goreng, sambal. All for an affordable price of RM4.50! Yummmmm!

So was it worth it? 1,000,000 percent yes!!!

When you have too much time on your hands...

As most of you know, since I got back home, I have been (and still on) a very very very very long vacation *sigh* A vacation is great but when you've been well rested for over 3 months now, it bugs you and all you want to do is go to work and work and work and work. You hear that employers? If you hire me, rest assured, you will get an employee who is going to work so so hard for your company that you would have to ask her to go home when she insists on staying after office hours to complete her work for the next year or so. hahahahha...So believe it or not, I have applied to well over 300 jobs. Yes, you read that right. 300 (and counting)... Never in my wildest dreams that I ever thought it would come down to this. I am starting to doubt whether anyone would give me a job. Will I end up having to mooch of my parents (and sister..muahahha) for the rest of my life??? I hope it does not have to come down to this :P Anyways, I truly hope that sometime soon I hope...real soon that I will eventually get the job I have always wished for *wishing hard...real hard*

Anyways, I have been experimenting on some recipes to kill time. The fridge now is stuffed with food! hahhaha... Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the food I made. So I'll just have to tell you and you'd have to use your own imagination. hehhehe... I have made chicken rendang, chicken curry, bubur cha cha, jellies, baked cup cakes and even made pineapple upside down cake. The list continues...

So please, someone, anyone, please give me a job so that I don't gain 200 pounds!!!

Updates

Hey everyone..It's been quite some time since I blogged. No reason whatsoever. Hahaha..

1.

It was quite a stressful week last week when I found out that some @$$ stranger had stolen my credit card number and racked up such a huge bill. Still working with the bank on this matter. They say it will take 4-6 weeks for them to carry out the investigation. Hopefully everything will be ok. I am just so furious! Seriously people, why steal from other people? How bout go out and get a job??

2.

The weather now is so so cold. It is so cold that if I leave a water bottle in the car overnight, it will freeze. That's how cold it gets. *sigh* I love the boots but not too crazy about the weather

3.

aaaahhhhh...I feel so relieved... I am done with my research paper for the Social Problems class I am taking this semester. That was a major contributor to my stressful week too :) One more to go though. I have to take the final exam.

4.

Been eating too much lately. Seriously, I am never full!

5.

Counting last night and today, I have had 8 Ferrero Rochers (p.s. having one right now as I type)

6.

It is starting to sink in now. I am leaving and coming back home. It is definitely bitter sweet...

Thanksgiving and Black Friday...

I had a blast on Thanksgiving (ate a ton) and went shopping the next day (Black Friday). Wohooo!! Eating and shopping, my two favourite things to do :) Will blog about it soon... xoxo

Boo!

This year for Halloween, I decided to fork out a decent amount of money and got myself a costume. Initially I was kind of reluctant to get a costume which I was only going to wear once. But heck, I thought. I have to get into the spirit and this was going to be my only chance to celebrate Halloween here in the States. Also, I am not as creative as Itos in devising my own costume (which by the way, she did an awesome job!). So on the eve of Halloween, Becs and I decided to do some last minute costume shopping. After several hours of trying on different costumes, we ended up buying the same ones. Hehhehe... It was a close call between becoming a Devil or Robin Hood. I decided on the later because it was longer and was not as tight as the Devil costume. And yes, of course being me, the Robin Hood costume was much more expensive than the Devil one. *aih, susah ada taste mahal nih.... hahahha..*

I was lucky enough to get the day off on Halloween. So Itos and I had a great day. We started our day by having some Indian buffet. Yum, the food there is so good! Then off we went to get some last minute Halloween stuff at Walmart. We got some white face paint, decorations, candy, etc. It was so much fun seeing everyone doing their last minute shopping! Then we went to a bakery to get some cupcakes as well as dinner (we got Popeyes fried chicken..yum!) to take to our friends house. Then off we went to start our Halloween celebration.

This year for Halloween, I went for trick or treating (and no, we didn't bring kids along.. we were the kids! muahhahahha). It was fun going from door to door getting candy. Later that night we went to a nearby club to check out the Halloween celebration there and enter a costume contest. It was fun seeing all these adult dressed up in really cool stuff. All hoping to win that $500 cash. I was hoping Itos would win since she was as scary as hell as Hantu Susu (complete with baby that talks in tow). But the winner was a guys dressed up as Michael Jackson with a boy on his crotch... hehhehe...I must admit that's pretty cool.

I must say that it was a great day. I am glad that I got into the spirit and bought a costume that I'll never wear again. But then again, whose going to arrest me if I show up at KLCC dressed up as Robin Hood right?

Vegas - September 17, 2008

Hey guys...As promised, here's my first Vegas entry. Enjoy!!!

Wednesday (September 17, 2008) - Excited, excited, excited!!!

I woke up early today at about 8 am. The taxi wasn't coming till about 11.30 but I had to run a few errands before I left for Vegas. In total if I had to guess I only had about 5 hours of sleep. Between the excitement of leaving for Vegas, packing, washing my hair (yes I waited last minute so that it would look good for Vegas...hahah), and being on the computer I slept late. Oh well I thought, I'll be able to get some shut eye in the plane. So I woke up, took a shower, straightened my hair, and got dressed. I left the house at about 9 am while Itos was still in dreamland (damn lucky I thought to myself..ehheh). First stop was the library to return some books. Next was the bank to deposit some money into my checking account. Then went to get my eyebrows done. Finally I had some time to spare and went to a store to return some clothes. And whalla, I was back home with 30 minutes to spare! yay!

Itos and I reached the airport at around 12.15 and everything was smooth sailing. The airport was not too busy and security check went well. The only thing that bugs me is the new ruling that all airlines here have. You have to pay $15 for each bag you check in. Urrgggghhh...

There we met Becs and Baz who were going to Vegas with us. They just got in from London and I was very happy to see Becs since I haven't seen her for quite some time. She was lucky enough to have gone to London and Ireland prior to her Vegas trip! Man, I'm jealous!! :)

I knew I was in Vegas when once I stepped outside, I saw rows and rows of slot machines! kaaaaacccchhhhiiiinnggg!!! Man that was exciting. The four of us stayed at The Mirage on the strip (good location as it is right smack in the middle of all the action). The room is gorgeous and spacious. With a huge flat screen and the beds, oh my, were they comfortable...It's like sleeping on a bed of clouds...

We chilled in the room for a while, unpacked and got ready to go out again. We decided to have dinner at the Cravings Buffet in the hotel itself. The food was good and they even had sambal (chili paste) with bubur (congee)! wohooo!! That was great...My other favourite was their shrimp dim sum. I had a ton of that. After dinner, Becs and Baz went to sleep while Itos and I roamed around the hotel and its surroundings.

I was so hyper and excited that I just didn't feel tired at all. It is true what people say about Vegas, it's a city that never dies and the excitement just makes you want to stay awake all night!

All in all, my first day at Vegas was great. Can't wait for tomorrow!!

I love food!!!

What can I say? I love my food. Any kind of food... The first picture was taken when I had fajitas at a Mexican restaurant called Las Palmas. I used to not like Mexican food but now I love it and can't get enough of the guacamole!! The next picture was taken at Olive Garden, an Italian restaurant. It has good food which is reasonably priced. Also, they have unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks...Wohooo!!! My dream job would be to become a food critic. Man, imagine being paid to eat? Wow! Just thinking about it makes me so happy... Food, glorious food...

On a different note, I know that I promised to write about the Vegas trip. I will soon k... Building anticipation konon! hahhahah...

Selamat Hari Raya!!!

Selamat Hari Raya everyone. Maaf Zahir Batin. I can't believe that raya is Wednesday! This will be my second raya in the US.

I remember fondly as a child celebrating raya in Teluk Kumbar at tok wan and tok's house. It sure was a full house since all the children (my grand parents have 11 children) would be there with their kids in tow. So that was the time when I'd meet all my aunts and uncles and my cousins. The things we did as kids during raya was loads of fun. At that age our number one mission was to collect as much duit raya as we could from family as well as the neighbors. So Itos, myself and few of our cousins would 'round satu kampung' and go door to door. However, as we grew older, we became a little bit shy and would not go round making our collection. This tradition is however carried on by our younger cousins :)

The other thing that I remember about raya as a kid was the food. There would be tons and tons of food and drinks. My favourite had to be the drinks that my grandpa would order especially for hari raya. We would get Coke, F&N Fanta, 7UP etc that came in glass bottles. Man, that was so special and I loved my grandpa for that. He was so cool to get all those drinks :) And at that time, being able to drink fizzy drinks was a treat since it was only once in a blue moon that I was able to get my hands on those bad boys (mama doesn't think fizzy drinks are good for you). Also, it was like a tradition that every year I would eat and eat and eat and puke right after for eating too much! You think I'd learn. But noooo, I do it every year. But I'm happy to report that I do still eat and eat and eat now during raya but thankfully my body has learned to adjust and I am able to hold my food in! hahah..

My favourite food for raya has got to be nasi impit with rendang daging (my mum's), rendang ayam (my aunt Q), kuah kacang with perut (my cousin Kak Ina), and my own kari ayam. Yum..yum..yum.. Hari raya now as an adult involves eating, relaxing and socializing in front of the tv, eating some more, relaxing and socializing again, eating, you get where I'm going with this... ;)

Once again, Selamat Hari Raya and don't be eating too much of that rendang now...Save some for me!!!

On my birthday..

On the first day of being 28..Here is roughly a list of what I did today:

1) 9-10.30: Drove to the college to pay the tuition fee

2) 10.30-10.45: Stopped at Walgreens (ala2 Guardian/Watson) and picked up an eyeliner

3) 11-12: Read chapter 2 of my 'Social Problems' class. Test end of this week

4) 12-6.30: Work (note to self: next year take the day off on your birthday.. Go to a spa or something and chill :) )

5) 6.30-7: Got ready to go out

6) 7.30-10: Dinner at Wild Fish with Rob :) Thank you..Dinner was fantastic...Food was great, but most importantly company was superb ;) I have had a craving for sushi for awhile, and today my wish came true..wohoo!!

7) 10.30: Internet (blogging, facebook)

Today was really good. Happy birthday self...I feel more like 18 rather than 28.. In denial perhaps? muhahhahahah..

p.s. Thank you all for the birthday wishes...You guys are the best!! xoxo

My kind of food...

After spending the whole day in Chicago last Monday, Itos and I decided to go have dinner (bukak posa) at the Penang Restaurant. It is located in Chinatown (about 10-15 minutes by car) from downtown Chicago. I have been there a couple of times with my Malaysian friends and food has always been really good. So wanting to be the good tour guide, I knew that Itos would want to sample some delicious Malaysian food. She's been here approximately 3 weeks and already she misses Malaysian food. Who wouldn't right? It is the best food in the whole wide world! yum..yum.. So I was really excited to go eat there.

We took the cab from downtown instead of the 'L' (like our LRT). It would have cost us $4 if we had taken the L, but we opted for the cab that costs us $13. Oh well, we were both so tired and didn't want to walk no more.

There we ordered laksa, roti canai, and koay teow goreng. The food was excellent. The laksa was really spicy but so succulent and yummy that we finished both the noodles and the soup. I was impressed with the fact that the laksa was 'laksa basah' and not laksa from a packet. So that was a plus point. Even in Malaysia when you go to some stalls they give you laksa from a packet which I hate..So I am pretty impressed by that.. The koay teow was good too. It had shrimp, towgeh (how do I spell this..Lupa lah), and eggs. I just wished that the koay teow had kerang (cockels) in it. That would have been so delicious..Man I am craving for koay teow kerang right now... The roti canai was more like roti tisu than roti canai. Not having had roti canai for more than a year, it was pretty amazing to have roti canai again..I believe that roti canai is one of the greatest food inventions ever...Go roti canai!!

We were happy with the food and as usual I ate way too much.. *sigh* It was worth it though.. My only complain was the fact that service was very very slow. It took ages for them to take our orders. And at one point I asked for some sambal (chili paste) which never arrived till today.. haha..

Having recharged our batteries, we decided to take the L back...wohoo..That saved us a couple of bucks and we needed the exercise anyways ;)

Backstreet Boys (Like ten years ago!)

Last Sunday Itos, Becs and I went to watch the Backstreet Boys (they should really think of revamping their name to something more age appropriate!! haha) concert. There we met with Mari and Lorraine. Before the concert, we headed to Dominicks (ala2 Giant, Tesco, etc.) to pick up some food for our picnic at the concert grounds. We picked up a whole roast chicken, buns, salad, crackers, hummus, as well as chocolate cake for desert. I must say that we were very satisfied with the food :)

We arrived at about 5 pm. The original plan was to arrive at 4 pm to get a good spot but that didn't work out :P Anyways after we arrived and found a spot to lepak (chill), we spread out a blanket, placed our chairs and food, and began our picnic. At around 7 pm, the concert started with Girlicious as the opening act. They performed for about 20 minutes. After that we were made to wait till about 8 pm when BSB came out to perform.

The funny thing about this concert was that Itos and I only caught a glimpse of the BSB because we were at the lawn sitting area a.k.a. cheap seats where you can't see a thing! Anyways, we had a blast. We sang along to their songs which brought back lots of memories from high school. I remember being in Form 4 (16 years old) when I was pretty much obsessed with the group.

It was a really really fun and enjoyable outing. Great food, great music (some might disagree), and great company..Who could ask for more?

Not so crazy about Stir Crazy..

Since we couldn't take Itos out last night for her birthday, Becs and I decided to take her to Stir Crazy (a Chinese/Thai restaurant) today. When it comes to Asian food, Becs and I love this place the best. Believe me, we've done our fair share of eating at Asian restaurants, so our opinion counts! ehehhehehe.. Anyways, confident of our choice, we took Itos here. We ordered our usual 'kung pao chicken noodles' and another dish which I forgot the name. We've never ordered this dish before but it's like a yellow curry kind of dish with noodles and chicken. The food was good and was gone fast :) We gals love our food ;)

So, trying my best to surprise Itos (even though I know she knows), I stood up and told them I was going to use the bathroom. Instead, I went to talk to the waiter and told him that it was Itos's birthday and could he put a candle on the desert and sing when he sends over the desert? To my surprise, he told me that they used to have sparklers (alah, bunga api with the blue cover and a black cat in front of it.. remember?) but now they don't. They didn't even have candles and they don't even sing happy birthday! I was kind of disappointed as I was trying to make the event a little more festive. *sigh* Sorry Itos, I didn't know they don't do that. I thought every restaurant does this. I know for a fact that TGIF, Red Robbins, etc does this. Cis, bedebah :P

Then our desert minus the candle came. Immediately, Becs and I knew that there was something not right with our 'Fried Wonton Banana Fritters' (not sure of the name but you get my jist). We've been there often enough and have ordered the same dessert each time so they couldn't fool us. First of all, there was no caramel drizzled on top. Also, the presentation was kind of awkward. We told this to the waiter even before he placed the plate onto the table. He told us that they've already kept the caramel (It was 9.27 pm and they close at 9.30 pm). That does not give them a reason to short change us on our order! The waiter knew that we were not very impressed with the whole desert thinggy and as a peace offering, he sent 3 vanilla ice creams our way. Still not impressed :P

And when we got home I also realized that he did not give us our fortune cookies! Aih...

Saturday updates..

Last night I went out for some Chinese food at a nearby restaurant. Itos was with me. We had chicken pot stickers and kung pao chicken noodles. The pot stickers were really good but the kung pao noodles were so so. Being the klutz that I am, I spilled a whole glass of water even before the food arrived. Hehehhe...Man, I made a mess. How embarrassing :P

The waiter was a very nice, handsome Asian looking dude. Itos and I was trying to figure out which part of Asia he originated from. So I guessed Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. We were curious and wanted to see whether we guessed right. To cut the story short, after he came back with my bill/check, he asked us: "Are you guys Malaysian?". We were in total shock! How could he have guessed? It's not that my name sounds anything Malaysian.. So then we asked him, "How did you guess?". Then he told us that he has a Malaysian friend and the words that we used such as 'hand set' instead of 'cell phone' etc. gave it away :) Also our English accent had a British tint to it. Aaaahhhh.... Interesting..All in all, dinner was enjoyable :)

Later we drove to the movie theatre a.k.a. cinema to go see 'The House Bunny' at 10.30 pm. I was so tired and after 5 minutes we decided to go home instead of watch the movie. Heheh..I figured that if I was to stay I would be paying to go 'tidur' (sleep) instead of watch the movie.

Happy to report that I had a good night's sleep and today I feel rejuvenated :) wohoo!!

oh btw, the dude is Filipino. Yay, we guessed right ;)

Duh...

Today I had another packet of Maggi Mee (asam laksa flavor). And I realized something, I had mispelled the word 'Maggi' in my last post.. I spelt it as 'Maggie' instead of 'Maggi'! Man... It's a sign that I've been away for too long from my dear friend Mee Maggi. Heheheh...

I'm addicted to it right now and only have 8 packets left!! nooooooooooooooo................. :O

I had Maggie Mee today..

Alas, after a year and a half, I had Maggie Mee (curry flavor) today.. I must say that Maggie Mee never fails in providing a delicious yet unhealthy meal :) Itos brought me 10 packets of Maggie Mee from Malaysia (5 Asam Laksa and 5 Curry flavor). I am sure I'll be going through those packets in no time.. slurrrrppppppppppp.....

Talking about all time Malaysian favorite foods, below is a list of food that I crave for (in no particular order):

1) Nasi kandar (Kampung Melayu and Globe)
2) Koay Teow Soup (Taman Tun Sardon)
2) Nasi lemak
4) My own chicken curry
5) Nasi ayam (Bukit Bintang)
6) Nasi padang (PKNS)

***********************************drool**************************

Texas de Brazil vs Brasil 68

Last weekend after having wanting to go to a Brazilian barbeque restaurant for ages, Rob, Okaka, and I joined a couple other au pairs and their friends for a big feast of non-stop meat eating! (For those who are not familiar with this concept, it is pretty much a buffet of meat on skewers. The waiters walk to your table with these skewers and carve the meat that you want. They'll keep coming back with different kinds till you tell them, I surrender!!) Yum..yum..

People who know me well know what a carnivore I am :) So I did any well respected Malaysian would do..Starved myself before hand so that I would be able to gorge and make my money's worth (hehhehehe)..I did eat a little here and there beforehand cause being me, I just needed to munch! The time moved so slowly as I was awaiting 6 pm. I was salivating just thinking about the glorious steaks that I was going to encounter and gobble up :)

The time finally came and we were waiting outside the restaurant because some of the girls were fashionably late (I only thought Malaysians were always late but I guess not :) We waited for about 45 mins or so and my stomach was crying for some juicy red meat. Alas they arrived and we were shown to our table and thus began the battle of BB vs Steaks. There was a spread of salads, soups, sushi, etc too that was part of the dinner. I could't be bothered as I was eager to start with the star of the show, the filet mignon :)

Then the unexpected happen..Man, I was so mad...My stomach was not cooperating...It was not acting its usual cheery-i-love-food self. Man, then I remembered...It must be the 'angin' accumulated in my tummy since I didn't really have a good lunch...*arrrrrrrggghhh** Oh, well...It wasn't too bad and I managed to chow down quite a bit of food.. And it was delicious and worth the wait...

Going there reminded me of Brasil 68 in Penang. Man...The food there was good too..I remember going there for the first time with Aten and Ajiji. We ate so so much we couldn't walk! ehehhe...Good times..good times.. We need to go there again guys (Is it still open though?)