It really takes two to tango August 26, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 26commentsPregnancy does weird things to people. While I had quite an uneventful pregnancy the first time round, almost devoid of nausea attacks, my second pregnancy has so far proven to be a force to be reckoned with. I now not only have morning sickness, I actually have all-day sickness. My nose has transformed into the bionic nose, with the ability to smell the faintest of smells, and what’s worse, almost all smells are revolting to me now.
I also discovered that I cannot stand the smell of garlic, although I loved it pre-preggers. So I can’t cook with garlic now, because the smell of garlic on my fingers after cooking will make me pukey.
Strangely enough though, while I shun the very sight and thought of garlic, ginger has the opposite effect on me. And it wasn’t too long before I realized that one of the foods I craved for now is ginger and spring onion chicken rice, more widely known as “kngeow charng kei pui” in Hokkien or “keong choong kai fun” in Cantonese. Truth be known, I can eat this every day and not be tired of it.
So when I discovered this Hochiak recipe in Pablo’s Delicious Asian Food, I couldn’t wait to try it out. Everyone knows that homecooked food tastes so much better than food bought outside. Okay la, plus the fact that there was a USD100 up for grabs that spurred my enthusiasm even further. Heh.
So last Friday, I tried the recipe out. It’s called Ginger Sauced Chicken in Delicious Asian Food, and it calls for ginger juice, but unfortunately I did not have the tools to juice my ginger. I do so need to get a mortar and pestle soon. Anyway, I followed the recipe almost to the tee but to my horror, the finished product turned out horrendously, and certainly did NOT look like the picture in the Delicious Asian Food blog. See? Mine looked more like Tau Ewe Chicken:
Being the stubborn and determined person I am, I certainly wanted to try perfecting it. So two days later, while my two princes were off to dreamland, I attempted to dish out a respectable looking plate of Ginger Sauce Chicken. Figuring the blackness could be due to the fact that I had reused some of the oil used to fry the chicken to make the sauce, I decided to use fresh oil for the sauce this time round. Instead of using ginger juice to marinade the chicken, I sliced up a LOT of ginger real fine, and mixed it with the chicken fillet, together with a dash of soya sauce and pepper. And oh, I omitted the garlic in the recipe because of very obvious reasons 
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And here are the results of my labor:
I had it for my tea-time and supper that day. And hubby said it was definitely better than the first attempt. Hee.
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By the way, wanna put yourself in the running to win USD100? Go check out Delicious Asian Food now, and cook yourself up a storm!
Splishin’ & splashin’ swim August 22, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 21commentsI try my best (honest I do!) to incorporate an element of exercise into my life. Nowadays, my best bet is to do a few laps in the swimming pool of my apartment every Friday evening. It helps that I work from home on Fridays, because I can then head straight for the pool immediately after work, eliminating the commute time from office to home.
My only foe now is my own laziness.
Just a few days ago, I was again battling this old foe of mine. I was about to finish up my work, and was having a brief chat with Audrey at the same time. She too was about to call it a day and head for her staircase workout, but I, on the other hand, was being wishy-washy about my swimming plans. I contemplated postponing my swimming till next week, reasoning that the haze was still around, but in all honesty, I was just plain lazy. Audrey, a fantastic mother of two adorable kids, in her usual got-to-love-her friendly style, suggested ever-so-kindly that I could perhaps go for a swim, but cut down on the swimming time. I fiddled with this prospect and decided to just do it. After all, who was I to argue with a terrific runner who is training for an upcoming 10K run soon?
I had no regrets after that. The water temperature was just right, and completing my laps was not a problem at all, fuelled by the image of Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps breaking world records left and right. In the spirit of fitness, I even threw in two additional laps just because I felt like it.
So exercise does wonders for laziness. And it didn’t even make me more tired after that. The crux is getting yourself out of that couch and into the swimsuit. Plus, I really do need it, especially in the first trimester, because if it’s good for me, it must be good for baby too.
The hope, glory and honor August 20, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 6comments
The Olympic games have proven to be an event full of highs and lows, ups and downs. So the badminton team is back from Beijing, with a silver medal to be proud of…although there was a flicker of hope that the medal could have been a gold one, and that on that fateful night, we would see Lee Chong Wei standing proud and tall on the highest step of the podium, with the strains of the Negaraku playing loudly.
Still, I am mighty proud that we walked away with a silver medal, and at least now we see Malaysia on the medal tally board.
Of course, there are plenty of comments and remarks about the straight-set match.
“He was nervous.”
“He lost confidence after losing those first few points to Lin Dan.”
“Lin Dan had home ground advantage.”
“Chong Wei felt the pressure.”
After the match, some people even say,”Aiyo, what a waste…he missed his chance of getting that RM1 million.”
But seriously, is that what’s important in winning a gold medal for your country? Is the RM1 million proverbial dangling carrot the impetus that drives our sportsmen (and sportswomen) to aim for excellence? Shouldn’t our sportsmen show their true patriotic attitudes with pride and genuinely say and believe that they are doing it for their country? For the honor, for the glory, and for the pride and love that they have in their hearts for their homeland, which we sing (all together now) - “tanah tumpahnya darahku”.
Because the truth is, sports people in some other countries are mostly just volunteers. Well, those who do well certainly gain from sponsorships and endorsements, but those who don’t, they just do it for their country, believe it or not. That is why tears are shed when the national anthem is played. These athletes are touched that their efforts have paid off.
So really, do you think the attitudes and mindsets of Malaysians should change? Or the problem could lie in the way we are governed today. What say you?
Fine & dandy wine & dine August 12, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 21commentsIt had been ages since my hubby and I have been on a romantic dinner date, just the two of us. Why, I think it should be over two and a half years now, i.e. since Ethan came into our lives. It’s not that we don’t want to, but it’s not very romantic to run around after an overactive toddler during dinner, now is it?
So anyway, that was why I jumped at the chance when my hubby’s department had a celebration dinner last Wednesday. It wasn’t simply just ANY celebration, it was held at 1885 in the E&O hotel. A fine dining experience it was, but of course it came with a price … we had to leave Ethan with the baby sitter for a few hours.
But still, this gave my hubby and I the opportunity to dress up and enjoy the evening together. Well, it wasn’t just the two of us ONLY though, because there were OTHER people around too, but still, it was a nice perfect evening of pampering.
It started with a cocktail session on the conservatory by the sea, which evoked memories of a similar cocktail session we had preceding our wedding reception at the E&O about 4 years back. Of course, it was less hazy then. Anyways, this time round, we had fruit punch and some kacang puteh appetizer, although I would have thought caviar would be more suitable for a fine dining kind of treat
We were placed in a table of ten, complete with elegant cutlery and table decorations, and our table was right beside the wine cabinet (although this does not mean we can help ourselves to the bottles there). Here’s the menu we had. Our entrées had already been pre-ordered, in order to save time. The lighting in the fine dining restaurant was a romantic amber hue, and it had chandeliers on the ceiling. There was even a pianist playing soothing jazzy tunes throughout that evening.
I hope they fed the pianist before he started playing!
First up was the Roma Tomato and Basil Essence soup, which had one piece of sui-kao (chicken dumpling) in it. Frankly speaking, the soup didn’t look too appetizing and I was right. It tasted like very diluted ABC soup, minus the homemade factor. And honestly, I would have expected much more from the 1885.
We waited for close to an HOUR before our entrées arrived, and yes, by that time, we were all starving (and praying that the entrées had better be good)
Here’s the filet mignon I ordered. Medium. I normally prefer the rib-eye steaks, but since that wasn’t on the menu, and I was craving for steak, this would have to do. And I was NOT disappointed at all. I am very particular about my steak being EXACTLY medium, and NOT well done, so the first slice I made through it, I knew I was in for a treat. The steak was perfectly done, tender and had so much flavour, I was actually sorry when I finished it 
My hubby ordered the cod fillet with oriental noodles. Our intention was to share a bit of each of our food, so we could have some variety. The cilantro berry sauce that the cod came with was excellent and went really well with the noodles. The cod was all right, I suppose, although my hubby loved it to bits. I, on the other hand, preferred my steak. YUM. Maybe it was the taste of the steak that drowned out the taste of the cod. For me, at least.
Dessert was a mini piece of crème brûlée with a slice of banana tart. Very good stuff. I was glad that our table had an absentee, so I hijacked the absentee’s crème brûlée too. I couldn’t taste the glazed sugar coating of the crème brûlée though, but I didn’t really mind.
The evening would have been made lovelier if we had won one of the prizes (like the MacBook or the Nintendo Wii) in the lucky draw, but still, this would be one of the many many dates I would cherish for a long long time 
Ready…set…OLYMPICS!!! August 8, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 11comments
I recently paid a visit to my hairdresser for a hairwash and blowdry. There was a young guy (who could not have been more than 23 or 24 years old) who was given the task to shampoo my hair. And as all shampoo people would usually do, he struck a conversation with me.
About sports.
He said he was really looking forward to the Olympics and from the way he spoke about the event, it was apparent that he wished he could have been in Beijing. Well, don’t we all? He told me he would be rushing back home after work on Friday night to catch the live opening ceremony of the Olympics, and in his opinion, it was really fate that China is the host of the Olympic Games this year, on the very auspicious date of 08.08.08. No, according to shampoo guy, this date comes so very rarely, even if it happened in the yeaer 2088, it doesn’t count, because then it would NOT be 08 all the way.
Shampoo guy was also filled with pride when he said it was the first time the Olympics was held in Asia.
And I, of course, immediately replied, “No, it was held in Seoul, Korea in 1988 what…”
He looked incredulous, and it certainly appeared as though what I had just told him was really news to him. In fact, if I am not mistaken the modern Olympic Games had also been held in Tokyo before, although at that time, I wasn’t even born yet.
“Yes,” I replied. “I remember the theme song was some ‘Arirang’ song or something.”
…which left him looking even more confused.
And now that I think of it, that poor guy may not even have been born in 1988. For all we know, he could have very well still be in his diapers, or toddling around, oblivious to the records that were being broken in that year.
Of course, my recollection of the existence of the 1988 Seoul Olympics does not, in any reason, depict how old I am. It merely goes to show that I had the opportunity to witness one more Asian Olympic Games event than that guy.
I’m looking forward to what China will showcase in the Olympics this year. 12 years of preparation will be unveiled tonight as the opening ceremony kicks off. I hope to be able to catch it live on TV tonight. And if not, there’s always the replay.
Ethan Boy
Our Journey of Love
