Goodies From Sarawak

One of my workmates had a holiday in neighboring Sarawak a few days ago and she brought some goodies back for us.  Malaysia is divided into east and west by the South China Sea and there are only 2 states in East Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.  Sabah is the part in orange and famously shaped like a dog (thereby qualifying this post for petblogville) while Sarawak is that part colored yellow.  Brunei, a country in its own right, is the tiny pink area (but $$$ giant) in between gigantic Sabah (but no $$$) and Sarawak.  Kalimantan is Indonesian territory and together we make up the island of Borneo.  Come to think of it, Borneo looks like a (fat) schnauzer.  A little bit of Geography there and now for the goodies....

One of Sarawak's specialties is this very, very colorful layered cake (kek lapis) which I heard takes a whole tedious day to cook.  Well, the colors are very striking and these tasted minty, sweet and sourish....um, advisable to pray before you partake.

I also got this cute key chain from her - an Iban girl dressed in traditional costume.  Iban is one of the ethnic groups of Sarawak.  Very nice of my workmate.....a heartfelt thank you from me!

Open House & More Food!

I was invited to another "open house" last Saturday.  This former colleague and long time friend holds an open house every year and to say that she is a good cook is just not enough.  Superlatives are needed.  My nephew had curry beef on top of his biryani rice.  Biryani is rice fried in ghee (lard) and cooked with all kinds of spices and raisins.

Buried underneath that sauce is "lemang" or glutinous rice cooked inside a bamboo trunk, stem, piece of cut bamboo.  It is cooked in an open fire.  The bamboo is then cut open and discarded and the rice is cut into rings and served.

One of my favorites - jackfruit or nangka cooked in coconut milk, salted fish and spices.

This spicy chicken was really, really good!  We had 2nd helpings even though it wasn't our intention......and when I asked my nephew why all that food and curry is sticking to his face he said he wants to leave some so he can lick them in the car.....\o/

Ooooh just had a phone call...Dr J has invited us all to his "open office" lunch tomorrow!  More good food....no doggie news for today.  Sorry Wawa and Coco!

Valuable Lessons

Mmm...yawn....zzzzz

I learnt a few valuable lessons while watching Mr. Yadah Blah......
a)  Don't give your opinion when nobody's asking.
b)  Talk less and listen more.  Much, much more.
c)  Don't eat and talk at the same time.
d)  Don't bang the dinner table while talking.  Especially if it's made of glass.
e)  Never cut people's sentence half way.
f)   Don't tell everybody what you own (eg Canon EOS 550) unless they're asking.
g)  Don't tell everybody what you are going to own (eg Canon EOS 650).  Nobody wants to know.
h)  Don't show off your photos and say how good they are when the horizon is lopsided.
i)   Don't insist that the horizon is lopsided.
j)   Don't ask if you are not really interested in the answer.
k)  Don't repeat your stories/questions.
l)   Don't shriek "What happened to you??!!" when someone has put on a bit of weight.
m) Don't shout "What?!!  Is that really you?? When were this photos taken?" when someone has aged a bit.
n)  Stop telling everyone where you've been and where you're going next.
o)  Don't say "A was a hell hole until I went there.  Now it's Happy Land because of me, me, me." (Yawn)
p)  Don't say "I'm happy and I make people happy!" when you're actually making people miserable.
q)  Don't contradict another person, especially when that person is surer of the facts than you are.
r)  Don't insist on anything unless there's a fly in your coffee.  Incessant talkers won't notice the fly.
s)  Don't I-AM-SURE-you-will-like-this-because-I-DO.  Respect other people's preferences.
t)  Don't shriek or shout when your listener is just 3 feet away.  Loud voices make Wawa piss in fright.
u)  Don't tell Coco she's overweight.  She might just lose her appetite again.
v)  Don't ask me if my "house is a zoo" just because I have 2 dogs and 6 hamsters.
w)  Get to know new friends before dinner.  Not after, when they're about to leave (What?  You're a lawyer/singer/street sweeper/whatever?").
x)  You don't have to tell everybody EVERYTHING about yourself when you've only just met.
y)  If you really must say your piece, start a blog.
z)  This is not the end of my valuable lessons.  I should have used 1,2,3 instead of a,b,c.

Mr. Yadah Blah

Mr. Yadah Blah, my dreaded guest, finally arrived at my doorstep, luggage and all.  I swallowed my dislike and welcomed him into my home and even hosted a small dinner party of 6 for him.  I needed my friends to shield me from his yadah, yadah, blah, blah.  Wawa took an instant dislike to his loud voice which spewed meaningless and offensive words all night long.  Nobody could get a word in sideways.  It was a constant barrage of I-me-my and I'm-the-best.  However, I was happy that everybody liked my cooking, especially my stewed pork belly.  Even Mr. Yadah Blah had a good word for it.  Among the thousands of words that floated in my ears, I heard a friend's quiet comment which strangely stuck in my mind and touched my heart.  It was such a small and common comment.  He took a great liking to my pork belly and couldn't resist the fattest portions.  It was sinful and he felt guilty.  He very softly told me that it reminded him of his mom's cooking.  I remembered that he lost his mom to cancer many years ago and I suppose in all that time he must've missed her cooking.  Especially her stewed pork belly.  I'm glad I cooked that dish.

You Will Be Judged

Just last week a colleague of mine was delightfully telling me about his cats. There were 4 of them and one weighed 7 kg. I told him that's almost as heavy as my dog! He also had 2 dogs but I could tell that he really loved his cats. Yesterday he told me that his dogs have died and all his cats too except for one. He also told me that he wept. A grown man in his 50s, weeping for his beloved pets. Someone had given them poisoned eggs and to make their death even more painful, the fellow had inserted needles inside the hard-boiled eggs. Just how despicable can humans be? I am so, so sorry for my colleague. I can imagine the pain that he and his family must be going through. Whoever you are, you will be judged for your cruel act!

The Pianist

I've known June for a very long time, way back to the days when she used to play the piano for our morning worship on Sundays. She is an accomplished pianist and singer and has "gigs" as far away as Japan. When I recently met her she told me she has an album of her own. Wow, you've come a long way, baby! Do visit her website at www.junetan.com. You can get a taste and a whiff of her music there. Coco and Wawa took a great liking to her legs ..... :)

Happy Birthday!

I hadn't really meant to celebrate my birthday when I invited friends for dinner yesterday. An encounter with a couple whom I hadn't met for years and years and years led to a lunch and a week later an invitation to my home for dinner. It was a day late but I thought why not. My nephew gave me a beautiful and delicious mango cake. No candles though because the cake shop doesn't provide THAT many and it would have set the house on fire.

My good friend brought me these very beautiful sweet-smelling lilies. She remembered that they are one of my favourite flowers. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I reciprocated by cooking them a nice e-zee p-zee dinner -- chicken nasi briyani!

hungerhunger.blogspot.com

I haven't received flowers in a long, long time. Yesterday Aunty T dropped by with her whole family and she brought these beautiful flowers for me - plus a huge chicken and pineapple tarts she made herself. Delicious, crumbly with just the right soury sweet taste. She is a very, very good cook and if anyone is interested in food and travel just visit her blog at hungerhunger.blogspot.com. Her children didn't want to come but she said there are dogs and so they came. See what dogs can do that humans can't.

Tea Time

G and L came for tea yesterday and I noticed that the tea leaves were dropping to the bottom in a vertical way. A long time ago a Japanese friend told me that that's a good sign and you'll have a good day ahead of you. True enough - I had a wonderful time. So wonderful that I wished they could've stayed and chatted longer.

Christmas Present!

I got my first Christmas present 2 days ago - thank you Dr. G for such a sweet gesture! I had wanted to open it on Christmas Day but unfortunately the paper bag gave way and I heard something break and sharp bits and pieces falling out. So instead of 3 pretty cups, I now have only 2...... :(