Saturday foodie

With this kinda variety, temptation simply overpowers will and any form of resistance

Dessert at Udders Ice Cream (Lorong Kilat)...I said stop looking at my backside!

E-fu noodles cooked differently, this time with gravy, interesting and tasty!

My 4th yusheng for CNY, never seem to get tired of eating this salmon salad :P

Steamed baby squid with lotsa garlic

I remember I was there a few years ago, it was just a very old coffeeshop and now, it's a refurbished eating house. We had dinner at Sin Hoi San, located at Tiong Bahru Road. Food was satisfactory and the above are my favourites! :P

When is spring?

Looked at the little pot of plant near the window as I sipped my cup of milk tea in the late morning, have not really taken time to enjoy this little pot of nature and celebrate its existence for quite some time...new leaves have made their way from the little mug and seem to be vying for attention. I smiled and gave one of the leaves a gentle touch. Wonder if I ever gonna see flowers blooming again...isn't spring coming soon?

Pleasure...Leisure

"It is in his pleasure that a man really lives; it is from his leisure that he constructs the true fabric of self." ~ Agnes Repplier

lunch + tea = ?

I looked up...different angles, in different light, how do we wanna see it?

Have been craving for kaya & butter toast and teh si for the past week, willingly surrendered to my temptation today. Drove to the airport, last thing I ever wanted was to squeeze amongst some kinda crowd. I was so hungry when I reached the airport that I wolfed down the soft boiled eggs, silly gal! Runny, soft and yummy...heh, kinda left that sticky feel on my lips. Savoured every bite of the toast, sipping on the hot teh si, a feeling of satisfaction and contentment seemed to meander through every nerve in my body. Spent the next hour or so letting my mind wander aimlessly, like a lost kite...not sure how far it has gone though :P

On my way home, driving along the highway, the lovely setting sun was my company, it was never out of my sight...

The rebel

The rebel is in town, with her rebelious attitude, infested with rebelious cells waiting impatiently to be set free, freedom it shall be!

My gift, my lunch

To have someone preparing food for you...

To have someone bringing the food to your workplace for you...

To have someone thinking of you, even if it's for a few seconds...

It's probably one of the greatest and sweetest gifts in life, especially this unexpected gift today...

It was a very late lunch, food was cold but it's a heartwarming one :)

My blanket

"Life is like a blanket too short. You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night." ~ Marion Howard

The journey...what I hear & what I see

Friday night, after dinner, decided to take a walk around my neighbourhood, tired from a day's work...just felt like taking a walk alone and enjoy the silence in my neighburhood. It was quite a windy night, loved to feel the wind with my eyes closed, have you ever tried listening to the wind in those silent moments? Together with the rustling of the leaves above me, it kinda formed a beautiful symphony of music. Heh, should I say I was totally blown away? I am not really sure but I know it's a nice walk... At times, while walking or driving, I just could not help but gaze at those lamp posts that line the side of the road, they could be so beautiful, all lit up. At times, they're kinda like the leading light, lighting up the trail in your life journey. At that moment, I guess I am thankful that there's light around me...

Post-dinner feelings on a Sunday...

We were in the lift, on our way to the carpark, on our way home after dinner, on a Sunday night. There was a huge piece of mirror in the lift so decided to have some fun with my camera. Back home, Didi said,"I feel abit depressed." I looked at him and said,"I am feeling the blues." Well, if only... I guess sometimes in our hearts, we will have our own "if only..."

8th day of Lunar New Year - Family dinner

Mummy is as sweet as dessert!

This seems to be my family all-time favourite :P Ha, for me, it's good with lotsa chilli padi!

A variety of interesting ingredients, it's a vegetarian dish!

Lotsa vegetables...not too salty, just the right flavour!

Didi's favourite, not mine :P

Roasted chicken...very tender and nicely done!

Didi's 1st yusheng for CNY

All smiles for the tossing of the yusheng!

My 3rd yusheng for CNY

It was dinner at Noble House (UIC Building). It has been ages since I last went there. It was not really crowded considering it's Chinese New Year period. As usual, the guys decided the dishes to order. Well, I certainly had no issue with that, it's always good to sit back and relax, I am usually not particular about what I eat :P

My wealth

Kat baked, I mean made a cheesecake for us when she came over to my place yesterday. According to Rachel, she stayed up till half past two in the morning to complete three of those lovely cakes. It's really sweet of her :) Kat kept saying that it's no big deal and just a simple to make cake. Well, it matters a great deal to me and I believe to the rest who ate the cake too. The thoughts and love that went into the cake can never ever be bought with any amount of money, every mouthful of it is precious...that's wealth to me :) Kat dearie, thanks for contributing to my wealth once again, haha! Snoop dearie, great to see you again...very touched by what you have shared in your blog about your Mama. I am sure she's real proud of this lovely granddaughter and I know she will always watch over you :) Hey, busy Ms Tan, here's a pic of what you have missed yesterday - Kat's cake, dun forget our next date! :P

Love is in the air...with the tiger leaping into action

Valentine’s Day this year falls on the first day of the lunar new year. Ha, just got the feeling that the roar of the tiger seems louder than the whispers of the sweetness of V Day. But then again, was also thinking what’s love? I believe there’s certainly no definite definition to it, just perspectives and perceptions I suppose. Late last night, decided to browse through my black file of quotes, a few of my favourites that probably left me thinking…

“Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay. Love isn’t love until you give it away.” ~ Michael W. Smith

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” ~ James Baldwin

“Perfect love is rare indeed – for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

“Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished.” ~ Og Maudino

Family reunion

Nice and sweet cabbage soup! 26 fishballs in all!

I have eaten countless pieces of this, can really forget about slimming down :P

Simple reunion meal but delicious and cosy. It's the second year we're having reunion meal at home. Without fail, we had Mummy's delicious cabbage soup with lotsa sea cucumber, fishballs and pork ribs. I helped to pan-fry those wu xiang, Didi took over for the last batch of wu xiang. A lot of cleaning was done today, wish it wasn't that hot and humid but I guess this kinda weather seems predictable during Chinese New Year. Both Didi and I are binging on the goodies now, oh no!!

Pink?

Was trying to tidy up some of my stuff, guess what I have come to realised...all my bottles of fragrances and perfume that I am currently using are kinda pink! Well, not really my kinda of colour but thought it's such a coincidence. Every early morning, usually wouldn't spend much time thinking about the kinda fragrance I would like to use, very quickly just grab one bottle and give my body a few 'shots', well, sometimes maybe giving some consideration to how the kinda fragrance will match my outfit or moods for the day :P Hmm, pink seems to denote sweetness and the season of spring...Well, do most kinds of fragrances for women usually come in shades of pink? Just wondering how a perfume would smell or feel like in a black bottle...mysterious, cold but with a touch of elegance?

Sisters

It feels strange not having you around, especially during Chinese New Year...keep warm

Wu Xiang

Piping hot! These will be kept in the fridge when cooled. They will be coated with beaten egg and then pan-fried, having it for lunch tomorrow! :)

The one who made 12 rolls of these...yours truly :P All ready to be placed in the steamer

A mixture of all the ingredients with all the spices and sauces

Ingredients...minced meat, prawns, Chinese mushrooms, chestnut, onion, carrot and spring onion

Every year during the Chinese New Year period, Mummy and I will always make wu xiang, lotsa them, enough to last us for the next few days. We were busy in the kitchen just now, getting ready those ingredients. Hee, I have kinda mastered the art of making wu xiang, well, the Chan family's way of making wu xiang I suppose :P

Three good reasons to smile this week

I was shopping for some goodies for children at Cold Storage and guess what, Toast Box is at Heartland Mall! This modern coffeeshop has never failed to entice me with its teh si and toast with kaya and butter. Oh well, and of course the peanut butter toast! To sit there to enjoy a cup of hot teh si (siu dai) and slices of toast in the afternoon simply brings much satisfaction and delight to the tastebuds and the heart! Now that it's nearer to home, hee, does that mean addiction is predictable and on red alert?

Didi is back! He touched down today in the late afternoon. Although the last time I saw him was just about a month ago, still very happy to see him, gave him a big hug! :) He should be home for about two weeks before heading back to Shanghai again. He's sitting next to me on the sofa now, watching TV programmes and looking like a couch potato, ha!

I guess I am really looking forward to the CNY holiday, Didi asked what's up for my CNY holiday and the first thing I could think of is sleep! Such a piggy! The last thing I am gonna do is to snack on CNY goodies, you better not, silly gal :P But anyway, I am sure the short break is certainly something to smile about :)

Sunny Sunday

Staying alert at all times...seems to be his life motto

Sunny Baby has a new bed! (which he loves to bite :P)

Curry paste from Penang, gravy could be eaten with anything, yummy!

A spread of delicious homeccoked food! Vegetables is certainly a must :P

Had dinner with Mark, Derrick and Billy tonight, it was homecooked food by Derrick. Ha, good to see same old Billy :P Besides grapes, dessert was also play time with our iphones, sharing and downloading apps, just like a group of children with new found toys.

I think I have not seen Sunny Baby for more than a month, missed him lots. He's as jumpy as ever. Simply love to hug him close and smell his fur! It felt so warm and he was really cuddly! He will start licking my lips and cheeks whenever I give him a little kiss on his nose, I know I will always be tickled by it! Sweet baby :) How time flies, he's turning three this July...

Gimme a shot!

Erm, who's this chef who looks like she's gonna cook up some kinda disaster any minute? Well, lovely lens and what a grin :P

Silly gal who looks like she needs to be in some kinda mental institute soon and of course, with Sunny Baby. Isn't he cute?! So tiny and with a face full of innocence...

Created by Mark for the sisters...

Happy

Someone once told me that you have to choose
What you win or lose, you can't have everything
Don't you take chances, you might feel the pain
Don't you love in vain, cuz love won't set you free

I could stand by the side
And watch this life pass me by
So unhappy, but safe as could be

So what if it hurts me
So what if I break down
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
Cuz I'm just trying to be happy
Just wanna be happy

Holding on tightly, just can't let it go
Just trying to play my role, slowly disappear
All these days they feel like they're the same
Just different faces, different names
Get me out of here

I can't stand by the side
And watch this life pass me by
Pass me by...

The above was taken from the song "Happy" by Leona Lewis. It's from her allbum "Echo". One would not believe this but I have listened to this album for almost four times for the past week while driving. She is a good vocalist and her songs seem to have the ability to pump some great energy in one. I like "Happy", just wanna be happy...