STARBUCKS

It seems Starbucks Kuching which is located inside the Kuching International Airport is getting more and more popular as an alternative 'lepak' spot in town. In fact the airport has been populated with people who are not travelling at all. 'Cats' had found a new place to hang out at the airport. Kids running around with parents chasing them are normal sights now at the airport instead of travellers chasing for their flights. Kids seen with their laptops and mp3 players instead of travellers with their luggage. As I'm typing this, a kid has just trip and fall. Crying as usual seeking attention. Next time if you want to hang out, head to the airport and not the mall. Rare sights indeed!

gen. than shwe (MYANMAR)

This devil should be locked up forever for disturbance of peace and human rights. Why should this world be someone like him? Does he know the meaning of democracy and human rights? Is he human at all? Let us all pray he will never haunt the earth again and return peace to Myanmar.

MYANMAR UPRISING

pictures courtesy of Channel News Asia

The Myanmar Government has gone too far by betting up monks and some were killed by what seems to be one of the worse uprisings by the people against the military ruled government. They even raided monastery and arrested monks just to stop them from repelling the government. When will this conflict end and when will the military government of Myanmar realized that things have to be changed in Myanmar? The people in Myanmar needs a democratic government and not some iron fist military generals who act whatever they like. How could the international society help? ASEAN countries could imposed bans and drop Myanmar from the alliance. The big brothers like UN, US, Britain and China could impose sanctions and other means to stop the escalating unrest in Myanmar. Put aside any self interest and help those in needs first. For the rest of us, all we can do is pray and hope that the Myanmar government will come to its senses and peace will be restored.

MID AUTUMN FEST

Mid-autumn festival or popularly known as mooncake festival was celebrated yesterday among the Chinese community and even the non Chinese have join in the festive. There are many stories behind the reason for the celebration but I’ll spare you guys with my story telling and jump straight to how I celebrated it. We gathered at my house and start a mini picnic at the garden with the tree full of colorful lanterns and the full moon set against the dark sky.

the tree was decorated with lanterns and the little gathering got underway. (just hope the tree won't die due to the heat from the candles)

food is a must in every party or gathering. we had cheese sausages, some "chai kueh", the compulsary mooncakes and also a pot of hot green tea and some cold ice tea for those who can't stand the heat. we didn't managed to finish all the food though

admiring the lovely lanterns, luckily non was burnt due to my ingenious way of putting tea candles instead of the normal candles inside the lanterns

SARAWAK INTER CULTURAL MOONCAKE FESTIVAL 2007

the Harmony Arch welcomes you to the fest at Carpenter Street

Last year this is my very 1st entry for my blog. Time passes by like a gush of wind and it’s been a year since I started my blog. Actually it’s not a full year yet since I started my blog in October last year and it’s only September now (blamed it on the Chinese Lunar Calendar). Here I come again back to where I began, Sarawak Inter Cultural Mooncake Festival. This year the event was less grand and festive as previous years. The number of stalls and performances has also seen a significant reduction. I think this is all due to the lack of people’s interest and also the way local authorities handle things. We should all know how the local authorities work here and also their work ethnics. Sad thing actually…….. Nevertheless, it’s still a festival that deserves participant from all works of life and be enjoyed by everyone.

lanterns display infront of the temple


lanterns of different shapes and colors on sale (anyone want to play lantern with me?)


giant lanterns hanging over the bonsai garden


soothing traditional chinese music playing in the back ground while you enjoy your bonsai appreciation


with all the influx of modern mooncakes, these traditional styles are still the best around


anyone want some cotton candy?


haircut for only RM1!!!!!!!!!! (i'll bring my whole family for it including my aunt, uncle, nephews, nieces, dogs, cats, ......)

even the Malays are enjoying the fest, this shows how we Malaysian live in harmony with all the different races

"chai ming tern" anyone out there who is expert in chinese poetry can have a guess

the majestic temple for you to pray and give thanks to GOD for all of this

BEN & SARAH

Ben & Sarah

Our leader of the ZOO pack got married on Saturday. It was a beautiful occasions from the church ceremony until the dinner that nite. Ben and Sarah was the perfect couple of the day and everyone was happy for them. Words just can’t describe the mood and feeling on that day so I’ll let the pictures speaks for it self as a picture says a thousand words. All I could say is, may God bless this wonderful couple and Congratulations from all of us ZOO animals!

the wedding ceremony was held at St. Joseph Cathedral

an all white decor inside the church

candle the symbol of life

the happy couple after they were pronouced husband and wife

the wedding reception during the nite was a classy and yet fun celebration

this is the start of our dinner, good food and company

the interesting wedding cake of little cup cakes with fresh flowers swirling around it

Ben & Sarah cutting the cake

what a beautiful wedding

CROCS

There had been numerous reports and incidents regarding flip flops or slippers stuck in escalators and people got hurt. Most of them are kids and it involves the ever popular Crocs shoes. Most of them blame it on Crocs but if you read carefully about the investigation, it is mostly caused by the negligence of the parents who let their kids jumping and fooling around at the escalators. One of the reasons is also due to the sturdy hold of Crocs shoes on the surface to prevent any slip. This can’t be a bad thing since Crocs are well known for their anti slippery and sturdy construction of their shoes. So please don’t blame it all on Crocs cos you’ll hurt the feelings of my little baby here.

my baby Crocs resting on the grass

NUTTY CHOCOLATE CAKE

I was so free yesterday until I found myself baking a cake which I seldom do. Although I’m a pretty excellent baker (kanasai!), I will only get my hands dirty when there’s a big party or festive season. That’s when you’ll see me sweating out in the kitchen armed with a spatula and eggs. So for today’s lesson, I’m gonna bake a nutty chocolate cake.

all you need is 5 eggs, 240grms of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 250grms unsalted butter, 140grms caster sugar, 140grms condesed milk, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 2 teaspoon of chocolate powder, lots of chopped hazel nut, almonds and chocoloate chips

beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add in the eggs one at a time. Mix well and add in the condesed milk, flour and baking powder.

after the mixture is well blended, add in the cocoa powder, almonds, hazel nuts and peanut butter. Mix until evenly blended.

pour into a greassed baking tin and top with chocolate chips. Baked in the over at 160 degrees for 45 minutes over a tray of water.

the end result of my hard work and sweats. Yummy!

MALAYSIA

Malaysia celebrated its 44th Birthday today. Some might asked me why today and only 44th instead of 31st August and the 50th anniversary. The real Malaysia was only formed in 16th September 1963. Before that, there was no Malaysia and the current states in Malaysia were called Malaya (for Semenanjung), Sabah and Sarawak was still under the British Colony. When Malaysia was formed at that time, it includes Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore which later pulled out due to some discrepancies. That’s why Malaysia is only truly 44 years old and she only got her independence on 16th September 1963. Happy Birthday Malaysia!

BDC NOODLES

can't read chinese so i don't know what it says but from the crowd, you'll know it's really good

Was dragged out early in the morning again for the sack of my KL friend. Brought him to a coffee shop at BDC for some local noodles. It was always packed and people from all works of life love to come here for their noodles. We got carried away gossiping about some newly elected datuk who is a wife of a Big (literally means the size) guy who is a housewife and seems to be not contributing anything to the society yet getting it. Go wonder........

springy noodles with fish meat, prawns, minced pork, char siew and a bowl of seaweed soup, just delicious

SIN SOON LEE 绿山

entering to the twilight zone

It’s been a long time since I step onto Muara Tebas or more commonly known as 绿山. Since my friend from KL was here, we brought him there for some seafood by the jetty. It was a 30 minutes drive and our driver was very good in avoiding the loop holes on the road. The whole van was filled with laughter and crazy antics just like a bunch of school kids. The air was cold and misty as we reached the jetty and boats were docked by after a day of catch.

Sin Soon Lee just next to the jetty

Since the more popular of the two restaurants was closed for the nite, we opted for the other one. We ordered whatever the waitress introduces to us since she kept on repeating what there have over and over again. So our dinner for that nite was on her hands.

salty vegetable soup with seafood and meat - a little bit bland

deep fried squid - crowd's fav, crispy and yummy!

butter prawns - a bit of a disappointment

oyster omelete (o chien) - another crowd's fav

small lettuce in garlic - the only non meat in our menu

steam fish in teochew style - fresh.....

wash down the meal with a fresh coconut

The dinner was great with the compliment of a drama played next table. The story involves an old man and a girl from China. Seems that the China girl is angry with the old man of neglecting her and not pampering her enough. Very dramatic indeed! After dinner, we all head back in a subtle mood since everyone was too full to joke around anymore. Burp!!!

the gang with the pink KL guy

HEROES, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES & UGLY BETTY

Three of my favorite tv shows is going on air soon!!! Can't wait.......

Heroes season 2 - 24th Septmeber 2007

Desperate Housewives season 4 - 30th September 2007

Ugly Betty season 2 - 27th September 2007

THE BANQUET

The Banquet, a nice a cozy place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner

I was dragged out of bed earlier than usual for breakfast today by a friend of mine from KL. I’m not a morning person and I usually don wake up this early even if it’s for work. I wanted to start cursing when I knew that we are going for dim sum for breakfast this morning. All the anger and sleepiness was swept away by the thought of steaming tray of ‘har kau’ and ‘char siew pau’, even my stomach start growling as an approval already. We head to this new place that just started to served dim sum a week ago and the chef there are very well known, even won a prize or two as what I’ve heard. Arm with high expectation and hungry stomach, we walk in to the big and airy dining hall of The Banquet. The setting is like any other Chinese banquet hall but this is more spacious and minimalist. You’ll feel relaxed and at ease instead of the feeling of overcrowded by all the nick knacks that usual Chinese restaurant had.

spacious and airy with the floor to ceiling high glass wall all around

The place wasn’t packed as its still early but slowly the cat people start crawling in as the time gets by. An interesting thing I notice here was they served the dim sum in trolley like those in Hong Kong but they still have to invest in a real proper dim sum trolley.

a proper dim sum trolley will do nicely if they willing to invest in 1

Overall, nice ambience and food but on the pricey side. Bring people here if you want to impress them. Now, after all these dim sum, I have to drag my feet back to work.

Teochiew siew mai, minced meat and prawn top with fish egg and wrapped in lettuce

char siew che cheong fun, the skin is thin enough but the char siew doesn't taste or look like char siew - kind of disappointing

chicken porridge, the porridge was smooth and top with lots of shredded chicken and crispy bean curd

lo mai kai, glutinous rice steam with chicken, peanuts and dried shrimp

crispy yam puff with char siew, one bite into the yam skin and you'll get steaming hot char siew

deep fried carrot cake, crispy on the outside, soft and smooth on the inside - best eaten with the chilli sauce

deep fried bean curd skin stuff with cheese and prawns -my fav

the king of dim sum - har kau

egg tart, not the usual multi layered skin but instead of the pastry style

char siew pau, nice skin texture with lean pork inside

all wash down with a steaming hot cup of chinese tea, ahh.......