Christmas dinner for Baby

Trying to cut those huge meatballs for Baby, with him eyeing the content in his dog dish...hmm, he seemed to enjoy lamb more than pork or beef.

He ate the whole piece of cake again! :)

Thank goodness Sunny Baby did not need to spend Christmas eve all alone at home, so happy he's able to join us all at Gean's place for our Christmas celebration :) Well, I believe that he needed a good Christmas dinner too. Bought him a little cake and eight meatballs. He seemed to be eating lots that night, hoped that he had not overstuffed himself :P Well, Baby dearie, I guess you wouldn't know that it's Christmas but sure hope that you have had a good time mingling with the rest, still thinking of you :) Thanks Mark for the pictures above :)

What does Christmas mean to you?

What does Christmas really mean to you? Well, it's a question that I have been asking myself, especially so this year. I wonder why. To the Christians, I believe that Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, it seems that Christmas is also being celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians over the years. Family and friends gather, enjoy lotsa great food, exchange Christmas gifts and for some, the festive season is filled with lotsa partying. Hmm, is this what Christmas is all about?

I think sometimes we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus, I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: "Why, this is Christmas Day!" ~ David Grayson

Photography...

Capturing sunrise through the lens of the camera...

A reflection of simplicity...

Every little detail became an important subject.

Drink...

My favourite beverage...plain water :)

Stopping for a drink after cycling...

Ha, erm, I think we can never ever forget the noodles we had at this little cafe. I think eating at this cafe has in a way boosted my level of confidence in my cooking :P

What a sweet and warm welcome at Hotel De La Paix. In the background...you don't really need a tree to set up a Christmas tree, do you? I love the creative and intricate design of that Christmas tree.

How many times were we at this balcony? I lost count...Nice little place to spend the afternoon.

Having a simple meal near the Central Market, Phnom Penh...a little fly wanted to share the glass of ice lemon tea with me and ended up drowning in the tea, not sure if it's due to the sweetness or the icy cold tea :P

Eat...

Interestingly, Korean food seemed to be the highlight for this trip, not so much Khmer food :P The was really a generous serving of spring onions on the huge seafood pancake.

I couldn't seem to get enough of eggs benedict at Hotel De La Paix.

I miss breakfast and tea at Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Our accommodation

Raffles Hotel Le Royal (Phnom Penh)

Hotel De La Paix (Siem Reap)...my favourite :)

La Residence D' Angkor (Siem Reap)

Silence

I couldn't seem to find words for these pictures that I have taken...maybe silence is the element I seek for and wish to capture in these pictures. Silence...Do you see it? Do you feel it? ...Are you enjoying it? What is silence?

Once again...the beauty of light

Sunrise and sunset should not be just seen through our pair of eyes, they must also be seen through our hearts ...so that even when we close our eyes, they can still be seen through the eyes of our hearts ....so that in whichever part of the world we are in, we will always learn to appreciate and enjoy these little joys that life brings us...

I thought I was brave

We decided to rent bicycles for a day to move around Siem Reap. Cycling in that kinda traffic and among all those vehicles?? No kidding, you know, I couldn't help but feel that the traffic can be pretty chaotic over here. I wonder about the meaning of "the right of way" over here at times since we have reached Cambodia about a week ago. Goodness, frankly speaking, there was really fear mixed with lotsa anxiety when the guys suggested cycling for the day. Yeah right, city gal :P Silly me has never cycled along a road, the cycling track at East Coast Park is so-called the best 'adventure' I have ever 'ventured into' in terms of cycling :P Well, but I guess it's another "I-thought-I-couldn't-do-it-but-I-did" kinda situation. Doubting my cycling skill, the last thing I ever wanted was to have my bicycle crashed into another vehicle, touch wood! :P But you know, when I was cycling among the numerous motorcyclists, cyclists, tuk-tuks and other vehicles on the road, I seemed to have his feeling that I am a part of them, really feeling what's like being a Cambodian. I mean it felt good :) Well, I thought I was brave (in my own way :P). Despite the seemingly chaotic traffic, I thought they were pretty considerate cyclists, motorcylists and motorists on the road. Well, but I think the best gift for the day were the smiles from the Cambodians as we cycled past some of the traditional shops and houses that they stayed in. Really lovely smiles that they have got...Thank you for that :)

What is poverty?

I think it's always interesting to hear and know how people view certain aspects of life...We were having dinner at a food stall by the roadside in Siem Reap and we started talking about the meaning of frugality and poverty...Poverty is not being able to meet even the basic needs, poverty is not having enough money for the month to buy a Prada bag, poverty is the lack of knowledge...

As we were eating and chatting, there was this group of children standing nearby...no shoes on their feet and they looked like they needed a real good shower. A few of them were carrying plastic bags and I think they were collecting used cans. Two tables from us, two tourists had just finished their meal and what I saw next kinda shocked silly me a little...one of the children standing nearby took a chicken wing, eaten by the tourists and with barely any meat left, and quickly went over to a little corner to savour it. I think he was barely ten years of age. He was sucking every bit of the bone and it looked like it was somewhat a delicacy for him for the day...or maybe even for the week. Another boy went to a table where a group of tourists had just left after finishing their meal and using his dirty, grim-filled hands to scoop a handful of white rice and moved hurriedly to another corner. He hungrily wolfed down that handful of white rice, seemingly satisfied with his 'catch' for the day...At that very moment, I wasn't really sure if I was feeling angry but I am quite sure something seemed to weigh heavily in my heart. No child should go hungry and starve...maybe naive me was very wrong. I tried to hold back my tears as the few children tried again to scout around for leftover food.

A ruin?

I have always thought it's a ruin but I think I need to see, feel and experience it from another perspective...

The temple stands solitary and alone in the jungle, in too perfect order to be called a ruin, a relic of a race far ahead of the present in all the arts and sciences. ~ D.O. King, 1860

Hungry hungry Baby

Gee, I was so happy to be able to see Baby over the past weekend! Bought him mini lamb pizzas, bread bones, muffins and eclairs for his dinner :) Hmm...well, I am not really sure if little gifts and treats can make up for not spending time with him...I guess probably not. However, it's still great to see him wolfing down the food that I bought, his dog dish was licked clean :) Will be thinking of you, Baby...

Monster Charlotte

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...my two front teeth...my two front teeth! :)

Keeping herself occupied...

From Charlotte to Auntie Xiaowen...

TWG

Have been craving for eggs benedict for the past month, how I miss poached eggs! I cannot quite remember if this was as good as the eggs benedict from Spruce but I think this is the highlight for me for tea today :)

Haha, sorry, my very good friend, I still prefer smoked salmon with avocado sandwiches. Hence, here's me showing the pic although we never got to taste it :P But I can do without the olives...

Sweet Sahara tea...hmm, it didn't seem to bring as much satisfaction as a cup of teh siu dai. Ha, not sure if that's a good basis for comparison though. Moroccan mint tea seems to have a more refreshing mint taste than sweet sahara...Well, maybe I do agree with my very good friend that there's really nothing outstanding about tea at TWG...or is it the way we are appreciating the tea that we had? Actually, interestingly, I still have a few tins of TWG tea leaves at home :P

Met up with my very good friend and her big monster for tea today. Well, not exactly tea coz we all didn't have lunch when we reached TWG at about three in the afternoon :P Well, I always love having afternoon tea. To me, that's kinda like a little ribbon added to the gift of life and that little decoration has its way of bringing smiles and joy.

Catching up!

One of the loveliest things in life is to find time to meet and catch up with friends. Thanks Edmond and Joyce who have been putting in great effort to organise and get in touch with all of us, appreciate much! Haha, will be looking forward to Joyce's mee soto. Oh my goodness, I am hungry just thinking of it :)

Christmas is...

It's starting to get real crowded in town, especially during the weekends. Have been so used to shopping during the weekdays where there's hardly any shoppers for the past year that I couldn't seem to get used to crowds and noise in the recent weeks... How would it feel like to have a quiet and peaceful Christmas? You know what, I am dreaming of snow flakes...

Against all odds

This must be one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended. Beautiful not because of the ambience, decor, food or gowns but beautiful because of the connection of two lovely individuals and their story. Finally, against all odds... My dear friends, Z & J, you cannot imagine how happy I am for the both of you and thank you for sharing your joy on this very special day of yours. My best wishes to the both of you as you embark on your next part of your journey together...with much strength, faith and love for each other.

Denial

How long can I still be in denial?

The little things

It's the little things that make you smile...how true

Sweet potato mont blanc

Chanced upon Bonheur Patisserie, a little pastry cafe, while reading a magazine and decided that I must check it out. Green tea mousse was not available that day, what a disappointment, had wanted to try that. Not quite sure if I would like their signature, strawberry balsamic, I asked one of the young chefs what else she would recommend. She pointed to the sweet potato mont blanc and urged me to give that a try. Well, I did and it sure didn't disappoint, it's kinda light, not too sweet and delicate in taste.

Birthday cards..sent

Dearest XF and Didi, hope your birthday was a great one...thinking of you both and looking forward to seeing you both soon, hugz...

What's going on

My first attempt at cooking curry with a homemade paste bought from a stallholder in the wet market. The stallholder even taught me how to cook, real patient of her :P The chilli was good but I had used too little curry powder. Curry was spicy, generally ok but lacked fragrance. Tried using fresh milk instead of coconut milk but I thought maybe that was a mistake. It's good that the homemade chilli paste wasn't that salty and glad that I added tau pok and fishcake, abit silly but I thought I just added what I liked to eat. Well, but this recipe really needs a second attempt!

Pieces of pumpkin were steamed and I had some stir fried minced meat with mushrooms on top

Tau kwa with bean sprouts...this is best with porridge :)

Tau kwa with french beans...love to eat what I cook, haha :P

I guess I am back. To those who have been wondering where I have been all these weeks, sorry if I have made you worry. After numerous assignments and hours at the laptop for the past months, the last thing I really wanted to do was to start typing paragraphs and paragraphs of words. Put it this way, I was even too lazy to form sentences, let alone paragraphs. Lazy is the word, I just wanna be lazy, so lazy that even a bulldozer wouldn't even move me. The rebel in me was enjoying itself taking centre stage for the past week, chanting "I don't care!" :P Well, well, well, I have not forgotten to do things which I like too...cooking meals at home and checking out some recipes. Did some shopping and marketing with Mummy, helped a little in decision making for the renovation and not forgetting to just idle :P

躲进世界的角落

我心里有个小孩，

每当她觉得与世界格格不入，她就躲进角落。

角落里有歌等着她唱，有谜等着她解，有回意等着她凝视，

有梦想如落叶一般等着她收拢，拾起...

在这里，她轻轻呼吸，慢慢走路。

音符与音符之间的空白，形成了音乐。

在静默之中，在留白之处，有一片美丽新天地。

我心里有个小孩，

她每一次躲进角落，都只是暂时的缺席。

因为，她需要一点时间，重新找到她在世界的位置。

~ 几米

The day before the day

Couldn't seem to get enough of this song and that voice, have been listening to it for the past week...

Homebaked love

Interestingly, I have two friends who loves to bake and I never fail to 'benefit' from their attempts at baking :P Ha, you can continue to dream of being thin, silly gal. Our dear Kat was very enthusiastic about sharing her lemon butter cake over the weekend and she even packed everything nicely in a box with a ribbon and a little note! Ha, what a pleasant little surprise :) Thanks Kat! The little note has already fed my stomach with much love and warmed my heart. Thank you for thinking of me...I ate the first slice of the cake with a smile on my face :)

Two lovely people and one meal

Went shopping with my parents last Sunday...Mummy and I love going to the household section and the supermarket while my father always heads towards sports section, more specifically, the golf section :P My parents are two lovely people who do not splurge when it comes to food for themselves. A simple meal of homecooked fish or minced pork porridge for lunch or dinner is satisfying to the both of them. I wouldn't say they are that adventurous when it comes to food, simple Chinese food brings simple pleasures to their lives :) Had dinner at TCC that Sunday evening, they complimented the food ordered but ha, I think Mummy still prefer traditional Chinese food :P

Missing you!

Always love it when Mark sends me photos of Sunny Baby :) Never fails to make my day...and make me miss Baby even more.