大头虾 big head prawn

Uni Heaven

2009-05-16T16:27:00.003+08:00

Jan really really loves uni (sea urchin). So when Jan and Andy came to Perth, I purposely researched for Japanese restaurants that served uni (not many in Perth), and was so lucky to find Zen Japanese restaurant whose menu specials include 'Uni Sashimi Special'.

Gill's Beef Tataki.

My Scattered Deluxe Sushi which is essentially my favourite chirashi sushi was SOOO huge and massive.

Andy had the oyster on top which he says was really fresh and good. We ended up sharing the chirashi which was very nice.

Andy's Assorted Tempura, I don't remember whether it was good or not.

Andy also ordered an Assorted Sashimi and Jo and Jan shared a Zen Sushi which was assorted sushi. The chef ended up putting all the sushi on a boat which made me really excited because I've always wanted to have a sushi boat!

We all shared the sushi but guess who had the Uni sushi?

The star of the night, Jan's Uni Sashimi special which came in a shell, since uni is usually very expensive we were quite worried about the portion, but it was pretty generous and Jan was in uni heaven.

Dessert on the house, panna cotta. It wasn't very good panna cotta, the texture was not smooth and light, but still, it's free (^__^) so can't complain much.

Overall I think Zen was a success because the uni was good!

Jo's birthday Y(^_____^(Y

2009-05-06T19:24:00.005+08:00

Jo's birthday falls on the 22nd April. Jan and Andy flew in late 21st, just in time to wish her happy birthday at the stroke of midnight (^___^)Y

On the day itself I had to work so I couldn't join them on their visit to the Perth zoo. But I did pack them a special picnic lunch. Hehe, Jan said afterwards that my sandwiches were like 'real sandwiches' haha.

I managed to rush home in time to stealthily intercept the birthday cupcakes delivery (only $5 delivery fee). Look how pretty the cupcakes are! We ordered them online from Velvet cupcakes and specified what we wanted the cupcakes to look like, they came out perfect!

Another look at the gorgeous cupcakes, Jan took this photo with her DSLR.

Dinner at Djimbaran Bali restaurant, the same place I had my birthday dinner, we just wanted to take advantage of it's convenient location right next to Utopia because we wanted to go for karaoke afterwards. I won't blog about the food but I still liked the grilled fish with special Djimbaran sauce best.

Jan and Andy and Jo! The birthday ballon was tied to Jo's chair the whole night and was a present from sweet Gill.

Jan and Jo.

Time to blow candles, or should I say candle. Actually it was a star shaped sparkler, very pretty but not so good in terms of making wishes and blowing. Jo was really surprised and happy about the birthday cupcakes though, it was such a good idea (Jan thought of it and found Velvet Cupcakes online). I think all future birthday cakes will pale in comparison.

The Northshore gang . Jason specially stayed an extra day so he could attend Jo's birthday dinner and Gill organised the flowers and balloons, such good friends right?

For some reason I didn't get a picture of Hads at the dinner, but here he is in Utopia, with his big cheery smile as usual.

Present opening time. Jo was very happy with her Bamboo fun drawing tablet from Jan and Andy.

Hads and I chipped in to get an I-touch for Jo. It had a really cute personal engraving at the back too (haha, giving myself credit for choosing the engraving). I like this picture because Jo looks so delighted.

Couldn't resist putting another picture of the cupcake, the cupcakes not only looked great but tasted delicious too, even Jan said it was a really really good cupcake. We had three flavours, chocolate, vanilla and red velvet (pictured above) and they were all yummy. My personal favourite was the red velvet though.

The whole birthday celebration group! It was a great birthday celebration and I think Jo was extra happy this year because Jan and Andy were here. Happy birthday Jo, hopefully next year the whole family will be here!

Happy birthday Andy!

2009-04-18T21:04:00.003+08:00

I hope you're having a wonderful birthday with a great and fantastic year ahead (^__^)Y In celebration of your birthday, I'm posting pictures of Rottnest Island which I took around Easter last year. Hopefully when you come in a couple of days the weather will be great as well.

One of the many beaches around Rottnest.

The lighthouse.

Clear and sparkling waters.

Two more days and counting to Jan and Andy's arrival Down Under!

Jo and Di attend Sandy Lam's concert

2009-02-03T00:27:00.007+09:00

Sandy Lam came to Perth and Jo and I attended her live concert held in Burswood Casino. The tickets were a Christmas gift from Hadwin.

Unfortunately, we had really bad seats, in fact the 2nd last row! But because we were really early, Jo and I managed to snag free glow sticks, I swear Jo had a radar for those glow sticks.

Luckily the venue wasn't very big so we still managed to see the stage and Sandy relatively well. Before the show, Jo and I were quite excited and singing the sole Sandy song that we knew 'zhi shao hai you ni.... wo yao bao zhe ni......'

I'm not sure what Jo and I were expecting, probably some slow ballads and Sandy in evening gowns but we sure didn't expect this! Sandy in hot black leather and garter belts!! Belting out fast numbers and dancing with hot male dancers! Wah.... I couldn't help wondering what the Chinese aunties with the giant mushroom perms and cheongs sams were thinking (there were lots of them!)

Then she changed into her 2nd outfit and the slow ballads came. At least we recognised about 2 of her songs and she DID sing Zhi Shao Hai You Ni, haha.

Her live singing was actually very good but somehow, when you've heard A-Mei live (hohohoho), everyone sort of pales in comparison. Anyway, Sandy was very sweet and approachable. While she was changing into her 3rd outfit, her concert executive producer and singer songwriter Anthony Lun Wing Lun( I think everyone had no idea who he was) sang a few songs for us. Poor guy, he jumped down to the first row and said he was going to collect angpows but no one gave him anything! Chio si wa.

Another black outfit and lots of fast Cantonese songs, most of them Jo and I had never heard before. The funniest part was when Sandy started singing English songs, and that Anthony jumped in as well and they went down the stage. So they were singing that 'Hey Mickey you're so fine .. hey mickey!' stupid song, and Anthony suddenly changed it to 'Hey Sandy you're so fine..oh you're so fine, hey Sandy!' I don't think Sandy knew he was going to sing that, and it kinda fell flat. ( = ^ ^ =) Cringe. Cringe. Cringe.

End of show. But it wasn't enough for Jo, the sudden mega Sandy fan. She pretty much STARTED the chant I think 'encore... encore... ENCORE!' She was so enthusiastic that the aunty sitting next to her her turned to her and said 'err. xiao jie, encore shi shen me yi shi?' Hahahaha. The chanting went on and on and Jo changed it to 'Sandy! Sandy! SANDY! SANDY!' I tell you, I was amazed.

So Sandy came out! Haha, another black dress and she sang 'Jin Tian Bu Hui Jia'.

End of concert! Jo and I had a really good time, I wish more Asian stars came to Perth, best if someone comes in April and we can all go together hor? Thanks for the tickets Haddo. (^__^)

Australia Day fireworks

2009-01-28T19:14:00.003+09:00

Pretty Matilda Bay in the day, Perth city in the horizon.

Australia Day fireworks at night (Jo took this photo). Coincidentally it was the first day of Chinese New Year as well, so we got some fireworks this year (^__^). The fireworks were really beautiful. But I still prefer the less spectacular fireworks back home, I remember that we get a 360 degree view of the fireworks from our house in Kuching.

I'm not sure whether it's because we've just returned from the family trip, but Chinese New Year felt extra quiet and lonely this year.

Guess what came in the post?

2009-01-20T18:02:00.004+09:00

A parcel for me from Jan and Andy! (^_____^) I wasn't expecting any parcels/cards from the family this year since I'd already received the nicest birthday gifts (I especially love Andy's 'meaningful' gift*hiak hiak*) earlier in the year so I was pleasantly surprised and very happy. After debating whether to wait till my actual birthday to open my bday card, I succumbed to temptation and ...

my birthday card and stickers for Jo and I. I loved the pink Hello Kitty paper bags, so cute.

The stickers are so pretty, I don't think I'll ever use them and instead keep them in my sticker collection. I don't know which one I like better, I love them all, haha. So old already still love stickers.

My first thought when I saw the card was 'looks just like Baby!'' (Baby is my very very old and treasured teddy bear with one eye and no nose) Couldn't help laughing when I read Jan's writing that both she and Andy chose the card for the very same reason. I thought the big blue one resembled Baby the most because at first glance, it looked like it had no eyes too. But now I think Baby looks like the greenish one because he's so old/dirty he looks almost greyish-green now. Time for a wash?

We finally put up the bday presents Jo received from Jan last year. The pictures look very pretty and girly in our living room .

So our conclusion is ... Jan and Andy give the best presents!! Wuahahaha. Thank you thank you! Totally made my day. I really love that card lah, it's the *baby* factor.(=^^=)

Perth Royal Show & some oysters

2008-10-20T21:23:00.004+08:00

It's almost the end of the year, how time flies! A couple of weeks ago, Jo and I went to Perth Royal Show again. This year's show was a bit of a downer because the weather was really crummy and it was showering all afternoon.

Jo and I went on the bumper car rides, very fun but we were all bruised and knocked up afterwards. Last year we bought a Barbie showbag for Sabrina (came with Barbie cap, hairband, bag, notebook etc.) but this year we were too cheapskate, so Sabrina has no presents this Christmas *evil grin*.

This is Spotty, our balloon dog. Our only purchase and best purchase at the show (only $5). It was such an attention getter and followed Jo like a real dog as she led it by the string. Lots of kids and parents ran up to Jo to ask her where she bought it from.

Who says dogs don't fly? It was a very windy afternoon.

Even though it was freezing, we still stayed till 9pm for the fireworks show. Can you spot Jo in the picture?

Before Hads left for New York, we met up for a seafood dinner at Oyster Bar. This is where Jo wants to bring Ah Ma for oysters when she next visits Perth. $12 for a dozen so that's $1 each, pretty good deal right?

Jo and her signature 'V' sign.

Hads getting ready to dig in.

Both of them had the Surf and Turf which was a giant steak with half a lobster tail on mash.

Mine was a trio of grilled snapper with prawns and scallops with asparagus and citrus sauce. To tell the truth, the dishes weren't that great. So next time when we go to the Oyster Bar we're going to stick with what they know best, oysters!

Christmas is just around the corner and we're going to be home soon! (^__^)

Spring in the Air

2008-08-22T22:47:00.005+08:00

I've been experimenting with hokkien noodles this past week. My chicken and mushroom hokkien noodles are vinegar-y, a little spicy and salty.
This is Perth version taogeh mee! Speaking of taogeh mee, I miss Aunty lao deng kolo kway tiaw.

It's still quite cold in Perth, chilly mornings but at least the sun's out! This is our favourite bay in Perth, also called Matilda Bay. It's right opposite UWA so we used to go there for walks and bbqs. Although I now live quite far away from the university, I still visit the bay every now and then. Next time when the whole family visits, we'll organise an Aussie bbq there ok?

Everyone cheer coz the weekend's here! (^________^)

Lunch bentos

2008-08-13T18:38:00.002+08:00

This is just to show Ah Ma that her bento boxes haven't gone to waste. Jo and I have been receiving compliments about our cute bento boxes. We really enjoy bringing home cooked food for lunch, much much better than store bought stuff.

I think we bought this bento box in Vivo city? One of those 2 dollar shops that Ah ma loves. You can pop chopsticks and other utensils on the top but I usually just bring plastic forks.

Tang chu spareribs with mixed vege and rice. I drizzled some of the sauce on top of the rice.

This is another bento box from the 2 dollar shop. Microwavable and very handy.

Crispy Nestum chicken with half boiled egg and rice. I love half boiled eggs which are firm yet still runny.

This set should be from Takashimaya, it's good for bigger portioned lunches and comes with chopsticks. The clips at the side are really user friendly too. Jo has the pink set while mine is red.

The bento boxes come with matching bento bags! Jo has the light pink bag and I have a red one. I love the words ' Let's have lunch! It's always a pleasure to eat lunch'.

This is tomorrow's lunch, unagi on a bed of chopped cucumbers with rice. Did you notice the Y(^ ^)Y smiley face that I tried to draw with unagi sauce?

I love bento lunches!!

Meme

2008-07-25T23:58:00.003+08:00

I was tagged by Jan, so here goes!

1. Last movie you saw in a cinema?

Batman: The Dark Knight. I enjoyed Batman Begins so was interested to see whether The Dark Knight with Heath Ledger as Joker would live up to the hype. News of Heath Ledger's death was huge in Australia since Heath was from Perth! The movie was sooo long, 2.5 - 3 hours long I think. Very dramatic and definitely not the usual comic movie i.e. X Men, Ironman (which I loved). I thought Heath was really very good as the Joker, very twisted, scary (when he licked his lips *shudder*) and yet human. I couldn't quite decide whether I liked the movie, but I kept thinking about it till the next day so I guess that's a yes?

2. What book are you reading?

My office lunchtime reading is the latest copy of Reader's Digest. But the last book I read was The Fengshui Detective by Nury Vittachi which is very funny and easy reading. It's about CF Wong a 50+ Chinese Fengshui master who is located in Singapore, CF is forced to take on a 17 year old personal assistant who's an Aussie girl, both of them solve crime mysteries together with the use of fengshui. He tries to learn English from her 'it'll be a piece of cake' 'you want a piece of cake?' and he speaks a mixture of Cantonese 'mo ban fatt' , Malay ' teruk lah!' and solves crimes in locations like Hongkong, KL and even Sarawak!

There's a whole series of these Fengshui detective books but I can't find them in Australia, must try to look for them in Taiwan or Singapore.

3. Favourite board game?

Pictionary too, just like Jan! I still remember playing with my siblings back in Kuching, was it Darren who was trying to draw the nail polish and he kept saying 'that nail pricker thing, nail pricker!'

4. Favourite magazine?

Is Reader's Digest a magazine? Probably not. I don't read magazines anymore since I decided they were a waste of money.

5. Favourite smells?

The smell of freshly baked bread/pastries. The 'washed' air after a thunderstorm.

6. Favourite sounds?

Big band sound. Piano. I like Ah Pa playing the organ on Sunday mornings.

7. Worst feeling in the world?

Looking in the mirror and feeling a deep sense of self loathing.

8. First thing you think of when you wake?

'Another ten minutes' *hit snooze button*

9. Favourite fast food place?

Mcdonalds or Maccas. I normally crave KFC but KFC in Australia gives me stomachache!

10. Future child’s name?

Never thought about it.

11. Finish this statement - “If I had a lot of money…….”

I would distribute it to my parents and siblings. Then buy a house in Perth.

12. Do you drive fast?

Only during go karting. I don't drive but I'm a coward so I think my car would move at 20km/hr.

13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

Yes, Baby (bear with one eye) has been with me for almost 2o years.

14. Storms - cool or scary?

Cool. Especially if you are safe at home, tucked in bed or on the couch with a nice cup of Milo and a good book.

15. What was your first car?

Toyota Yaris, but never driven before.

16. Favourite drink?

Iced milk tea. Hongkong style dong lai cha, Malaysian teh si peng and Taiwan bubble tea with no bubbles.

17. Finish this statement - “If I had the time, I would………”

learn a new language, study Masters, travel home, cook more, read more, exercise more.

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

People don't eat steams on broccoli??

19. If you could dye your hair any colour what would it be?

Light brown with highlights.

20. Name all the different cities in which you have lived.

Kuching, Perth, Canberra.

21. Favourite sport to watch?

Football, gymnastics, diving.

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you.

How about two or three? Highly intelligent, very creative and a knack of making things beautiful.

23. What’s under your bed?

Boxes of clothes, accessories, documents.

24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Yes and no. I wouldn't mind being beautiful.

25. Morning person or night owl?

Night owl.

26. Over easy or sunny side up?

Sunny side up with a yolk that bursts when you prick it with a fork.

27. Favourite place to relax?

Matilda bay in Perth. At home in bed.

28. Favourite ice-cream flavour?

Don't really like ice cream only soft cones especially the twisted chocolate and vanilla ones.

I tag:

Darren

and I don't know who else lah!

Bye bye window seat

2008-06-20T22:50:00.003+08:00

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Since then, I have been very very busy at work. Sometimes in a good way, a lot of times, not in such a good way.

Our entire branch is moving to a different part of the building as part of the department restructure. As my boss puts it ' I think we drew the short straw on the relocation area'. The thing that pissed me off the most was losing my great window seat.
I will miss the angry and impatient taxi drivers. Also the crazy woman who yells at our building every other week. The blue skies and squally storms. But I think most of all I will miss R who is the nicest colleague in the building and the very first colleague I was introduced to. I will miss him telling me his family stories, about his kids ' they're at a beautiful age, beautiful .. but sometimes.. you have to keep telling youself you wanted them'. I will miss watching him consume huge amounts of white chocolate freddos whenever he's stressed. Sigh.

My new cubby hole reminds me of scenes from 'the office'. Far far away from the windows. Even the window seats in that part of the building aren't good, they face the wall. But at least it feels quite cosy and private. And I have lots of places to pin things up and nice shelves.

So I'm going to make the most of a bad move and 'decorate' my place with things from home. I'm thinking postcards from family and friends , cards, photos.

Change of subject. This is the tuna, tomato and basil pasta that Jo and I had for dinner a few nights ago before I fell sick. Oh yes, another thing, my eyes have improved! My doctor is so pleased with the results (improved vision, not much haziness, normal eye pressure) that I don't need to return for anymore visits!

Hooray. I can see again. (^____^) And it's finally the weekend, so hopefully I can throw off that horrid cold by the weekend and be fit to start over again.

Jo's birthday celebration

2008-04-29T19:12:00.007+08:00

I am so lazy! It's been a week past Jo's birthday and I have yet to blog about it.

The birthday girl!

Jo chose Ciao Italia for her birthday dinner, a very popular and very tiny Italian restaurant in South Perth.

Some food pictures. Jo's order of the day, her favourite Risotto Marinara, maybe it was the long wait but the risotto was really nice.

My Scaloppine Marsala was great, I don't know what they put in the marsala sauce, but it was buttery, creamy and sweet at the same time.
Ciao Italia style birthday celebration. Blaring music, waiters with sparklers and tiramisu!

We love the tiramisu at Ciao Italia, it manages to be creamy, fresh and not overly rich at the same time.

Greedy Jo, she asked ' is that it? that's my birthday cake?!'

Luckily that was not it. Back home, we brought out her mango cake.

It was a delicious sponge cake with bits of mango in between the layers.

Gift unwrapping, Jo's favourite part of her birthday (^___^)

Sundays at Freo Markets are about ...

2008-04-13T18:08:00.004+08:00

Yummy bowls of soft pork ramen. Piping hot tako balls with flying bonito flakes. Watching Jo trying to juggle between her corn on the cob and double twist soft cone. Pretty flowers for the house. I'm so sad the weekend's over. (T_____T)

Kok Kok Ayam

2008-03-11T22:32:00.004+09:00

It's nice that Jo and I are taking turns cooking, sometimes it's nice to come home at the end of a work day and think 'oh, it's my day off'. But truly, most of the time I really enjoy cooking. Since Jo has been cooking so much Chinese food lately, I decided to go western when it was my turn to cook today.

Chicken with white wine cream sauce pasta and lots of parsley. My favourite and fast becoming Jo's favourite too. She actually requested for more parsley today! I'm sure I will be able to convert her into a coriander lover soon.

We're eating so much chicken that we're going to turn into chickens pretty soon.

Everything is Possible

2008-02-28T20:00:00.004+09:00

Today I cooked Ah Ma's famous Fried Sharksfin with Fake Sharksfin. Jo and I (deprived lah) enjoyed it every much even though I almost melted in the kitchen. I put lots and lots of bamboo shoots so it was super crunchy and the carrot strips gave it a slightly sweet flavour. Ahhhh...
And guest what I received in the mail yesterday??

Thank you thank you thank you Jan. I really love it. I think the message is most inspiring. Planning to only wear it on special occasions and every time I feel I need a bit of support or courage. (^___^)

I returned from my eye checkup today. Good and bad news. My wounds are slowly healing due to the medicated eyedrops, but because my eyedrops are so strong, my eye pressure is now too high. Sigh. So we have to stop the medication and try to get my pressure back to normal.

I'm going back on Tuesday. I think the positive side is, everything is under control and fixable. So nothing to worry about ok?

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to seeing a sharp and clear world again. Afterall, everything is possible right?

Jo's First Dish!

2008-02-22T22:51:00.004+09:00

Jo has started cooking! We've decided to spilt dinner duties this year, she's taking Mondays and Wednesdays while I'm cooking on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Weekends are free for all (^___^)

I advised her to start easy and cook some stir fries. But instead she asked Jaya for a recipe and decided to cook Butter Chicken. I was anticipating lovely Indian Butter Chicken when I came home, but instead she was cooking chinese style Butter Chicken instead, shallow fried with KFC powder then coated with a sauce made out of condensed milk and butter.

The chicken was good, tender and crispy. But one problem. Gillian was helping Jo in the chicken and taking out the 'condensed milk' when she said ' this isn't condensed milk, it's mayonaise!'
She mistook the mayo jar for condensed milk and unfortunately we didn't have any condensed milk at home. So I suggested that she change the sauce to a basic sweet and sour sauce instead.

Tadah, Jo's first Tomato Chicken garnished with crunchy sesame seeds and chopped spring onions.

I prepared a mixed vegetable dish to go with it.

It was a nice dinner and a great first try from Jo. I am anticipating more yummy dishes to come, congratulations!

Hot Summer Days

2008-02-18T19:25:00.003+09:00

Hot summer days are only nice when you have Korean watermelon ice lollies! in the dridge.

Summer salads

2008-02-12T21:53:00.001+09:00

J
A mango chicken salad that I had over the weekend.

o's back in town, haha, now I have someone to moan about the heat with. It's 38 and above every day for the coming week, we're literally melting here.

I'm blogging from home! The internet connection is a bit wonky but at least we're online. More next time!F

Long Ma Jing Shen ....

2008-02-07T21:20:00.000+09:00

long ma jing shen long ma jing shen long ma long ma long ma long ma long ma jiiiiiing shen .......

Haha, I even miss those horrible cny jingles!

Guess what I had for reunion dinner?

Lots and lots of fish! Guarantee this year will Nian Nian You Yu. Hahaha.

Ok the promised house photos.

First, the front door. I think Jo will have a little trouble parking but ... practice makes perfect!

The living room. Quite big and spacious with clean tiled floor. We will have our bright rugs out soon.

I like the kitchen except no gas stove! (T____T) Don't like electric stove for cooking. But I love the space plus there's a pantry room at the side, good storage space.

The laundry room.

Bathroom. The toilet is next door. I got us a very pretty sakura themed shower curtain.

Jo's room. A bit small but there's a big built in wardrobe which is good. I don't know why I didn't take a photo of my room which is essentially the same as Jo's but a little bigger.

We also have an outdoor verandah which is big enough for a small bbq party and a storage shed for all our junk.

Ok, just a random picture I took the other day at Cottlesloe beach. It's summer!

M.I.A.

2008-02-03T11:17:00.000+09:00

I will probably be missing in action for about a week or two while the phoneline and internet line gets connected. And then there's all that unpacking and making the new place livable. I was going to post up photos of the new place but... my digicam wire is sealed in a box somewhere. I can imagine Ah Ma and Jan reading this and shaking their heads and going ' aiyoh...this ah Di is always so blur'.

Meanwhile, I finally moved in yesterday and the new place resembles a disaster zone. Who knew two girls could possess so much rubbish? I hate moving so much and swear that we'll have to stay at our current place for at least 2 years till I can save up to afford professional movers!

Ok, so if anything important crops up, just send a text message k? Meanwhile, Happy Chinese New Year to family and friends in advance! Hope you all have a wonderful and prosperous ( always must add prosperous) and very very lucky and happy Chinese New Year! GongXi Fa Cai, Wan Shi Ru Yi, Xin Xiang Shi Chen!

Taiwan Day 1... finally!

2008-01-25T23:40:00.000+09:00

Just a bit of an update on my eyes and work before I start on my Taiwan blog. I went to see the eye specialist yesterday and had to endure almost 2 hours of eye tests! My doctor's name is Professor Barrett which I thought was weird when this Mexican looking man started tested my eyesight, I called him Dr. Barrett. After a while, I realised he was just the optometrist. Then he ushered to me another room where I called an Indian man Dr. Barrett, he was also an optometrist of some higher level. I finally met the real Dr. hours later. (-____-)"

Overall, my eye condition could be either due to scarring (not good but fixable) or just normal symptona from operation at such a high degree. He said it was too early to tell, so nothing much to worry about at the moment, just keep an eye on my condition and checkup in another month.

Work is relatively easy and relaxing! My colleagues have been really nice and helpful.Today my colleague asked me ' Diana, are you enjoying work here?' Most of my colleagues are family men and women who call their wives and kids every now and then to coo to them. Very cute. So far so good so fingers crossed.

Ok.... TAIWAN!

Early in the morning after our soyabean drink, we headed to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. For some reason we didn't see the memorial which should have been right in front of the MRT so we ended up taking a long walk instead. It was still a nice walk with old ah peks playing er hu and practising tai qi.

Then we went to the undeground mall at the Taipei Main Station where the shoes were wonderfully cheap. See, Jo gives the thumbs up to the underground mall.

Poor Ah pa was quite bored at the mall, I think he was quite glad when we decided to have Ramen for lunch. This is my Hell Ramen aka Di Yu La Mian which was on promotion and plastered on the walls. I didn't realise Hell meant super duper hot and even asked for Zhong Lak. It was very spicy and I was coughing after a few mouthfuls. The ramens weren't great. Mine had pork blood cubes. But I did discover Nestea Pear Tea which was sooo nice that I drank it every day after that.

We went back to the hotel for a short rest but stopping for more soya bean first. The nice auntie gave us a free vegetable bun which Ah Pa said was nice.

Then it was time for Shilin Night Market!! Food food food. We made the right decision of going ear;y om the evening around 5pm, the market was just starting to open up and most of the night market crowds weren't around. Here's Jo at the start of the market.

More Taiwan sausages!

Spring onion pancake. We tried two different stalls, Ah Pa had a thinner lighter version of the pancake which was nice.

Jo's was thicker, oily but still rather tasty.

More stalls. The famous chicken chop stall was up ahead but I'm not putting up pictures since JO has already blogged about it. But I liked the chicken chop, very unhealthy but still nice once in a while.

Do you recognize the man in the corner? I think we ended up buying a bag of the Ji Dan Gao which tasted like 'Long Koh' only smaller and hollow inside.

I love Taiwan fruits. I think I had a packet of Taiwan pears almost every day, the jambus, stuffed cherry tomatoes etc. were all so sweet and refreshing.

Shilin was getting crowded so we decided to head home. We stopped by for the famous Yang Tao Bing (Starfruit Ice) located at XiMenDing and near our hotel area. I was surprised that the ice tasted more like preserved sour plum drink instead of starfruit.

Jo and I were still hungry after Shilin Market. We dapaoed some Oh Wa Jian (Fried Oyster Pancake) to bring back to the hotel with us. We loved it!

The illegal stalls were also coming out at the main shopping area in XiMenDing. Jo loves sweetcorn so she bought one fo the grilled corn on the oob which were lathered with pork oil and some soy sauce -ish marinate. She really loved this sweet corn and we waited for this stall to come out the following 2 nights.

Ok, more next time! It's Australia Day and I'm going to check out the fireworks. (^__^)Y

Bla Di Da

2008-01-21T21:33:00.000+09:00

I know I'm far behind on my Taiwan posts. My eyesight hasn't been very good lately, according to my optometrist, I'm not healing as fast as I should. But....I borrowed a friend's extra glasses and they work perfectly fine on my now 300 - 400 degree short sighted eyes. Optometrist says I'm ok to use it so now I can see fine at work! Muahahahaha.

So I will blog more coming ths week. (=^^=)

I have to move out soon, I am still waiting for the landlords to call me back, please give me a place!! Luckily I asked for an extra week extension on my current lease so I'll have the long weekend ( it's Australia Day on Saturday so we get Monday off, so happy) to pack and move and clean. Mmm..sounds so exciting right?

Update on the new work place. It's good! Mostly because of the air conditioning, it's so hot in Perth right now that I don't even bother heading out for lunch and have lunch at my desk every single day.

Ham sandwich day in day out.

Ok, hope this week whizzes by real fast and the long weekend comes soon.

First Night in Taiwan

2008-01-15T20:36:00.000+09:00

We had a few hours to spare in Changi Airport before flying off to Taiwan. I think Ah Pa spent quite a few minutes on these nifty lOSIM leg massages around the airport. Don't they look relaxed?

When we arrived in Taiwan, it was already late at night. Jo and I ventured out of our hotel to look for food. Luckily there are tons of 7 elevens around Taiwan and even a few illegal stalls in Xi Men Ding.. We had some little Taiwan sausages.

We woke up a bit too early the next day. Most of the shops in Taiwan don't open till 11am. So Xi Men Ding was very very quiet.

But the famous soya bean stall was open! We love the auntie at the stall, she was very nice and friendly and once even gave us free buns. We liked her so much we visited her stall almost every morning.

Hot and smooth soya bean drink was great for breakfast every morning.

To be continued ...

Prelude to Taiwan Posts

2008-01-09T21:54:00.001+09:00

I know I know, my Taiwan blog posts are way overdue but work is so busy that I cann't bear to look at any more computer screens after work. I promise to do a longer post during the weekend!

Meanwhile, here's the best picture I managed to take of Farenheit. We were lucky enough to be around when they had their autograph signing session outside a 7 eleven store in XiMenDing. Even though I was really quite close to them, it was hard to take a proper photo with all the squeezing fans and heads around me. I think they're really quite good looking in real life but of course with my lousy eyesight then, I couldn't see them properly!! (T______T)

I think they must be really popular because this Japanese obasan next to me was saying ' Fei Lun Hai, Fei Lun Hai' and gabbing away to me in Japanese.

The best food in Taiwan according to Ah Ma and Jo, Ah zhong Mian Xian! Ah ma prewarned me not to put up photos of her enjoying the noodles but I think they both look very cute! I think they would have eaten the Mian Xian everyday if they could.

Ok, more during the weekend!

p.s Darren we've received your parcel, thank you!! Love the slippers. (^__^)

Merry Xmas from Changi

2007-12-25T14:39:00.000+09:00

Merrry Christmas!! I'm typing from CHangi Airport where we will be for a few hours before flying off to Taiwan for a week long eating and shopping spree!!!

My vision still isn't very good and I can hardly see what I'm typing so please excuse my typo errors! I'm hoping my vision will improve by the time we get to Taiwan but at the moment, at least I'm quite comfortable and there isn't any pain or great discomfort. Now if only I could see things more clearly, how to spot yummy snack foods if I'm half blind??

Ok I'm a bit tired now, happy holidays everyone!
Merry Christmas Jan, Andy, Darren and June! And Happy Birthday to Jan in advance!!

Pro and Cons about Flying Home

2007-12-14T20:15:00.000+09:00

In a few hours Jo and I will be boarding a plane to fly home. This time I'm really excited and nervous about going home.

Pros about going home:
1. Seeing Ah ma and Ah pa again
2. Yummy and affordable local food. It will be weird not having to fork out at least AUD$7 for every meal, can't wait to go for RM2.50 auntie lao-deng kolo mee.
3. Playing with the doggies.
4. Seeing Gun-gun and Ma-ma ( I don't know when that became a pro but they seem to grow so much older every time I go back. We bought Ma-ma a little singing Santa, I hope she likes it).

Cons:
1. Meeing the other relatives. I don't mind meeting them, but I dread the ' Ah Di, kak bui kee hor?' comments.
2.Fending off questions about jobs, how much salary I'm getting etc.
3. Accidentally meeting old friends who never have nice things to say.

There should NEVER be any cons about going home.I am 24 going on 25 and yet I still possess a child's mentality about going home. When will I get over the bloody weight issue and feeling so scared of judgment and negative comments? I still haven't managed to grow a thick skin after all this time.

Hopefully the next time I get to go back, I'll grow more skin, be less sensitive and there won't be a con list.

p/s we loved your Christmas parcel Jan! and the Christmas card too. Sometimes I think you have the Japanese 'touch', every card, present and parcel is so personal, pretty and detailed. Hope you and Andy have a wonderful Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Starting 08 with a smile (^__^)

2007-12-11T19:50:00.001+09:00

I was awaken by an early morning phonecall. I got the job! This is from the interview where I went 'Er....er......er ........ gosh, I'm so bad at this' midway through a question!! Apparently they said I did really well, hahaha.

Will be starting at the new job (working for the government) when I return from holidays early Jan. I am excited. Y(^______^) Y

At first I immediately wanted to buy a new laptop to replace my slightly wonky old one. But now that the excitement has settled, I think I'm going to wait till April before I make any decisions. Maybe the department will buy me a laptop?? *wishful thinking*

I am now soo looking forward to the holidays and 2008! (* v *)

Purple Trees

2007-12-10T23:21:00.001+09:00

I love the purple trees that line the streets of South Perth. At night the flowers let out a lovely fragrance that leaves one slightly heady.

Everyone is going off or home for the Christmas holidays. But this year I'm not so sad or lonely, because I will be going home too.

Sweet Oranges

2007-12-06T16:16:00.001+09:00

Haven't blogged for ages so I thought I would put up some random pictures that I took over the month.

Quite some time ago we went to a newly opened Japanese restaurant which was an all-you-can-eat buffet. This was my first plate. Lots of sashimi. Yums. If you all ever come to Perth we will be visiting this place.

Jo and her Northshore (where she works during the weekend) gang, Jason and Gillian. They also joined us during the Japanese dinner. Jo and Gillian have become very close. She's very nice.

For some weird reason, I couldn't get enough of the oranges served at the buffet. They were so sweet and refreshingly cold. And so conveniently cut into such perfect sizes! After the buffet, I went to the fruit market and bought some Australian navel oranges. Ever since then I've been trying to cut them in the same way, but they just don't taste so good. So weird.

This is Gillian's 9 year old dog, Angel. She's very greedy and likes sushi a lot.
We brought her out for a walk along the South Perth riverbank. The weather was really nice, sunny yet windy.

A week and a bit and I'll be home! Can't wait. (^___^)Y

Australian Idol Finale

2007-11-25T22:45:00.000+09:00

The supervisor lookalike won.

(T______T)

Sigh. Stupid Australian Idol.

I'm going back to watch Taiwan's Millionstar.

Life without rice isn't nice (T____T)

2007-11-08T23:21:00.000+09:00

Yesterday it was Wui Hao's birthday and we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. Jo and I both had bento sets but we didn't allow ourselves to touch the rice much. However, we did have a few spoonfuls lah. Then Jo turned to me and said ' Do you notice how nice the rice is?'

Rice is warm, fluffy and yet a little sticky. How do I live without you?

After dinner we walked to this nice Malaysian place next door which sells lovely chendols. The silly boys ordered an extra one for us assuming we were going to share. But we were very gwai and refused the drink.
Today we had salad again.
The other day it was salmon with mixed salad.
Grilled lamb chop with mushrooms. After a while all greens start to taste the same, especially since we aren't allowed much ingredients to make salad dressings. It's extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Bleah..

Besides missing rice, I really just miss cooking dishes. You know the one meat dish, one vegetable dish and maybe soup with rice kind of cooking. It's weird not using the slow cooker for braising spareribs, or maybe making tamagoyaki, stuff like that.

Jo and I also realised that we're not enjoying food that much anymore, even when we try to allow ourselves to take day offs and have one coffee drink etc. Stuff that used to taste so good just tastes rather bland. We are losing our foodie souls.
Anyway here's a picture that I took of Swan River with Perth city in the background. I am really looking forward to going home!!

Millionstar

2007-11-06T16:30:00.000+09:00

Lately I've been watching this Taiwan Idol-ish show with all these young Taiwan kids. I like listening to all the songs and also the host is my favourite host 'Tao Zi' hehe.

Not sure whether Jan will like this show but in case you're interested its called 超级星光大道. I think they're up to season 3 now but I'm starting from season 2. Season 1 was quite funny because there was this guy who kept crying but was the favourite to win till he had to quit because he forged his age to get into the show! Chio si wa. Everyone on the show was crying when he announced that he was quiting but I was laughing so hard.

These Taiwanese have such funny English names, this girl's name is called 'Katsu', katsu??! Isn't that Japanese pork cutlet or something? Maybe she's saying that she's a 'zhu pa' hahaha. But all the girls seem so skinny! Don't they eat in Taiwan?

Ok, back to my show now, bye!

Salad Overload and a little Culture Shock

2007-10-31T19:56:00.001+09:00

Grilled mushrooms are actually really nice! It's a new find to add into our salads and more salads. Jo and I have been eating so much salad that leaves will be sprouting out of our ears soon.
Jo's finished her thesis! We brought all 4 copies for binding today and she will be handing it in tomorrow, hurray! We celebrated by eating mixed salad instead of plain lettuce! No lah, just kidding,we had some lovely grilled chicken wings too.

Today when we went swimming, I was putting our bags into the locker and turned towards Jo to ask her something when I saw the expression on her face (0 ~ o). It was such a funny look! As if she accidentally swallowed a frog.

Then this Asian lady breezed past her and walked towards the lockers. She was stark naked. As in can see everything, EVERYTHING kind of naked.

I'm actually quite used to 'openness' of this sort in Australia but obviously it was Jo's first encounter. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from smiling. I threw a look at Jo trying to convey the message of ' it's quite normal, it's ok' but I think Jo was in a state of disbelief.

I hurried into the bathroom to change to stop myself from laughing aloud. After a while, I walked out from the bathroom and lo and behold, there was that lady again! Standing in front of the sinks and mirrors, legs wide open and brushing her long hair, still happily err... bare.

To stop myself from grinning, I rushed to the lockers again when I saw Jo walking out from the bathroom and seeing the same glorious sight. Her face was PRICELESS!

I almost died from not laughing aloud. I pulled Jo away and we went out to the swimming area. The first thing that came out from Jo when she left the showers was ' WHHHY??? whhhhy???'

Chio si wa.

Rabbit Food

2007-10-30T19:36:00.000+09:00

We had grilled chicken salad for dinner tonight. Shredded chicken pieces with lots of cos lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes drizzled with a little olive oil.

Midway through our meal, Jo looked at me and said ' We're like rabbits'.

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry but we ended up laughing a lot. (^___^)

In an attempt to reach our daily water intake of 2 - 3 litres, Jo and I have been guzzling plain water all day. We now resemble floatation devices. At least we know we won't drown when swimming!

Health Kick

2007-10-29T21:49:00.001+09:00

Jo and I half started our diet today. Sigh... we hate diets. Dinner consisted of grilled salmon (marinated with balsamic vinegar and light soy sauce) on a bed of stir fried cabbage. Jo was a little dismayed because she doesn't like fish but I think in the end she thought it was ok. I think tomorrow we might have grilled/roasted chicken instead.

Swimming tomorrow!

Fish Paste Egg Rolls

2007-10-28T00:00:00.001+08:00

I tried a new recipe from Chubby Hubby today, Steamed Fish Paste Egg Rolls and it turned out pretty good. Only problem was I should have served the rolls straight out of the steamer, it was a bit cold when we finally started eating.
For dessert, I made Hong Dou Sha with Lily Bulbs and Lotus Seeds. This time I remembered to take out the bitter seeds inside the lotus seeds ( the last time I forgot to remove the seeds and it was so bitter!). I think I want to make Lek Tao Suan soon, can buy Yew Char Kueh to go with it...only.....Jo and I have to DIET!!!

So sad. (T____T)

Poor girl's version of Fried Sharksfin

2007-10-25T21:13:00.001+08:00

Every now and then I get a craving for Ah Ma's specialty Fried Sharksfin which we always have for Chinese New Year. So I substitute sharksfin with tanghoon and it usually comes out pretty tasty.

Except last night my normal poor girl's version was made every poorer because I didn't add any meat or prawns at all, just used crabstick,carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and ham (-____-). It was quite tasty but not salty enough and just lacked a certain oomph. Ok ok, I guess I'll add some chicken or prawns in future.
I've been thinking that I better start writing down the things that I plan to eat during holidays. Pohpiah, ham chim peng, bakkua, pohpiah, char kueh, poh piah, mee pok and did I mention poh piah? We just can't get good pohpiah here lah.

Jo and I are going on a diet starting November! (T_______T) We have to try and slim down before our holidays or we're not going to be able to do any shopping or eating at all.

I finished my last project for company, free from the chains of terror and back to job hunting again. Sigh. Ok, I'm off to watch Law and Order now, bye!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas .....

2007-10-21T18:17:00.000+08:00

Still a couple of months to go before Christmas but the Christmas decorations are already up around Perth!

Jo requested teriyaki hambaagu for dinner on Friday.

Jo and I liked this 'baby 1st's Christmas' themed tree in Myers. Ahh...come Christmas time Jo and I will probably be feasting on Taiwan sausages and mango ices in Taiwan..can't wait
\(* v *)/!

Friends have been asking me why I don't stay in Kuching till CNY before going back to Perth. While I would love to relax at home, I can't help thinking ' one month in Kuching equals one month less income/job hunting'. Whatever happens, I'm really really looking forward to a restful holiday and lots of time with the family. And Kuching food!

These pieces of bak kua were on sale during UWA's Spring Feast. The saddest looking things EVER. Thompson's bak kua here I come!!

The Never Meetings

2007-10-18T14:44:00.000+08:00

Tuesday morning. Meeting at 8.00 am Perth time, 10.00am Sydney time. I was given a new number to call so was expecting lots of problems. Called the tele conference number and was told that the conference hasn't been initiated yet. Listened to the call waiting songs till 8.30 am. Put down phone and called again. Conference still hasn't been initiated. Gave up at 9.00 am.

Same Tuesday. Marketing conference at 11.30 am Perth time, 1.30pm Sydney time. They are supposed to call me. 20 minutes passed, still no call. Called supervisor and asked ' Aren't we supposed to have a Marketing meeting?' She replies ' Yes ..but the head of marketing isn't here! I'm not sure where she is, but I'll give you a call back when she gets in'

'Ok'.

Not sure whether I should continue on with my work i.e. more phonecalls or wait for their call. Decide to wait for 30 mins. No call. Continue with work.

Received an email on Wednesday, no apologies for missing the meeting, just a new time for another marketing conference for Thursday.

Received another email stating a different time for Thursday conference. Update calendar.

Thursday. Receive another email stating ANOTHER different time for conference. Update calendar.

Come Thursday. Am waiting by the phone for the scheduled 2.15pm Perth time ( 4.15 Sydney time) marketing conference.

It's now 2.55 pmPerth time , 4.55 pm Sydney time, 5 minutes to close of business time for Sydney HQ. Any chance the meeting is still on??

Again, no emails, no apologies, but I will be waiting for the new scheduled time tomorrow.

Celebration Hari Raya in Perth

2007-10-14T13:30:00.001+08:00

I'm sure Jo missed her Ayam Masak Merah and Beef Rendangs this year. Her eyes always shine so brightly when she talks about ayam masak merah, unfortunately my Ayam Masah Merak attempts in the past haven't been great so I'll have to try it again some other time.

We were invited to Ars's house for Hari Raya again this year. He cooked two large bowls of Beef Rendang and Chicken Rendang. We also had store bought ketupat and satay sauce. Very yummy. His rendangs were very spicy and tasted great with ketupat, must get his rendang recipe next time.

I didn't cook any meat dishes this year and provided desserts instead.

My first attempt at Kueh Salat. Hehe, a bit messy and badly cut but will do. Everyone seemed to like it and finished everything. We're deprived lah.

Pandan flavoured and coconut milk agaragar. At least two distinct layers showed up. The agar agar was supposed to be green in colour but I didn't have any green food colouring hence it was boring white.

Konnyaku jelly with mixed fruit pieces. I chinchai grabbed a packet of konnyaku jelly powder without realising that it was guava flavoured. Luckily the jelly was quite refreshing especially with the fruit bits.

It's Sunday night now and the weekend is officially over. It went by too fast I think. Tons of work due tomorrow so I'm doing some last minute work and hopefully things will go well tomorrow. Will need to have the quit job talk with my supervisor tomorrow. I still can't believe that she beat me to the chase and resigned before I did!

Quitting feels very scary. A bit like falling off the edge of the world and not knowing what's going to happen next. I can't decide whether I'm considered a failure or whether I should think of quitting as letting go and moving on.

The stress and worry from this job completely consumed my life these past 4 months. What happens after you fall off the edge of the world?

Cabbage soup and a little story

2007-10-10T19:58:00.000+08:00

Jo has been complaining that she misses drinking soup and tong sui so I cooked cabbage soup with fishballs, crabstick, baby sweet corn, carrots and the works for dinner tonight. Good way to use up the free chicken carcass that I get from the Chinese butcher shops.
We also had her favourite oyster sauce chicken with onions. Jo asked ' how many onions did you put in?!' I answered ' Err two, I thought you love onions?' Mark who came for dinner laughed and said ' Good for pang pui' (-_____-)"

He then proceeded to tell us this horrible story about his teacher who had some kind of operation. When the operation was over, the doctor told her ' when you fart, it means you have recovered liaw'. So Mark's teacher was waiting and waiting anxiously for her farts to come. 2 days later she farted and was very happy.

Thanks for the story Mark. Sure made dinner more appetizing. (-____-)

Phad Thai

2007-10-08T20:45:00.001+08:00

Haven't cooked phad thai for almost two years! I had to get the recipe off Ah Ma and cooked it for dinner tonight. My rice noodles were too hard even though I soaked it for 10 minutes, I forgot what I used to do with it to get the right consistency. 20 minutes instead? Still love the sweet and sour taste though, very 'kai wei'.
We had dinner while watching the latest results for Aus Idol. Our favourites are still in but the ones I don't like are still in as well! There's that supervisor look alike girl which Jo quite likes but I hate. It's unfortunate that she looks just like the younger version of my supervisor whom I now really despise. I have to close my eyes when she's on TV. And there's also this 'surfer' dude who never combs his hair who Jo has affectionately dubbed 'the dog'. He even has a doggy name ' Marty'. He has a really broad rounded Aussie accent as in 'I' is pronounce ' Oo..i'.

Monday's finally over but Friday feels like miles away. I'm hoping we can watch Hairspray tomorrow, apparently it's a really feel good movie which is what I need right now.

Spaghetti for Dinner

2007-10-03T20:41:00.001+08:00

Jo and I went swimming today! We usually go to this leisure club near our place which has an indoor and outdoor pool. The pool reeks of chlorine and we usually stink for about two days after swimming.

We had spaghetti bolognese for dinner, I've stopped buying bottles of premade sauce and prefer making my own sauce. I like lots of shredded basil leaves on mine while Jo doesn't like any herbs at all, she hates coriander, parsley, basil etc. which is too bad because I love them!

Tomorrow we'll be eating out because UWA's having their annual Spring Feast, I hope the stalls are good this year, I am hoping to eat Chwee Kueh and Mua Chee. Then Curtin Uni is having their Pasar Malam on Friday which we're definitely going to coz Jo is going to meet up with some of her colleagues. Die loh, all plans of dieting before going home not really working.

Ok, that's all for now! Two days and counting to the weekend.

Perth Royal Show 2007

2007-10-01T22:14:00.001+08:00

I had a much needed and lovely long weekend.

Even though we had light showers throughout the day, Perth Royal Show 07 was really fun. I've been to the show almost 4 years in a row and I'm still not tired of it ( goes to show how boring Perth can be). It was especially fun going with Jo this year even though I had to stop her from buying miscellanous ugly soft toys!

I think the stall owners loved her because they don't usually get such a joyful reaction from their ripoff teeny weeny prizes. ' Soooooooo cute !!!!' (-____-)"

I was hoping to steer her away from the dreaded area but .... she found the coin machines!! She first fell in love with those cash sucking machinese back in London and has been feeding coins into them ever since she discovered them in Perth arcades.

My favourite buy of the day, the cute squidgy balls necklaces which light up when squeezed , Jo got a orange squidgy and we bought one for Jan too.

The fireworks show at 9pm was spectacular.

Sigh.. it's back to work tomorrow. (T______T). I feel sick in the stomach. Jo and I had dinner in front of the tv watching Australian Idol, it's the only Aus tv show that we're hooked on. There's a girl who sings pretty well but I don't like her coz she looks like my supervisor.

Most of the time I can't be bothered to watch Australian tv after working, it's like I don't want to be reminded of the people I have to talk to and work with everyday. Instead, I keep Chibimarukochan in the background, she's so cute and cheerful.

Ok, first official post for this blog! Good night!