Easter with the Giddy T’s March 24, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Christianity, Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Thoughts & Scribblings , 11commentsThis year, Easter is celebrated much earlier (March 23rd) than other years. In fact, the next time this would happen would be in the year 2228 (220 years from now) . Good Friday saw me fasting and praying for the first time in at least three years. Since I am neither pregnant nor breastfeeding this year, it was the perfect time for me to fast, pray and dedicate my thoughts solely to the day Jesus gave His life on the cross for me. Hubbs and I had planned on going to church for the service at noon, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we didn’t…and we are kicking ourselves for that because had we gone, I might have been able to post a picture of the Giddy Tigress with the newly appointed Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng. Not that we are stalking him or anything like that, though…but if I do bump into him, I would love to extend a warm hello and welcome as a friendly *neighbour*.
On Saturday, we made a day trip to Ipoh to celebrate my nephew Collin’s full moon. It was again another excuse to stuff our tummies with food. Hehe… no regrets there. In fact, we were so full after the lunch that all plans of tar-powing the famous Canning Garden chee cheong fun vanished into thin air (although the stall was only a stone’s throw away). Ah well. There’s always next time.
Then came Easter Sunday. As usual, the church was packed full to the brim with parishioners (methinks some of them were hoping that the CM would make another appearance). We had to make do with sitting on plastic chairs placed by the pews, because we were ummm….a few minutes late. Actually, it was rather a blessing in disguise because we had a full view of the altar and was able to concentrate 100% on the sermon being delivered. Well…maybe 90% because of intermittent distractions from Ethan.
It was also Race Day (Sepang Formula 1 Grand Prix) and Super Sunday (Barclays Premiers League) that day, and hubbs hinted VERY loudly that he would prefer homecooked food for dinner that night. So I bought a few items from Jusco for cooking dinner. I was only able to start cooking at 5:55p.m. though, that’s when Ethan finally fell asleep. One hour later, I managed to whip up a piping hot dinner, one which hubby gave the thumbs up to, much to my delight. *grin*
Although Race Day ended with Kimi getting what he deserved (yay!!!), I shall choose not to say anything about the Super Sunday score, which I don’t think was super at all. Bleagghhh….
Chillout session at Chili’s March 3, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Ethan , 14commentsIt was a really a spur of the moment decision. The claypot chicken rice I had cooked for lunch was all finished, thanks to our lunch guests: uncle-in-law, brother-in-law and his fiancée. So we had the perfect reason to go out for dinner last Saturday night. What started out as a trip to McDonald’s ended up with us walking into Chili’s Gurney Place. Would you believe it was our first visit there, since it opened so many moons ago? (well, a few months ago we *almost* ate there, but were turned off by the non-politeness of the welcoming crew)
Anyway, we stood outside and waited to be seated. No one came for a good one minute or so, and when the lady came to ask us how many people in our party, she did so with nary a smile. But we thought we would bear with it and see how the whole experience would turn out to be. We were then ushered to our table and provided menus.
Hubbs ordered the lamb shoulder and I ordered the chicken monterey. One cool thing about Chili’s is that they offer bottomless fruit juices, so of course I went for the mango juice, while hubbs went for the pina chillada (non-alcoholic, mind you. Pina COLLADA is alcoholic, CHILLADA is not).
By the way, don’t you think the mosaic design on the table is way cool? Really unique.
Just like Friday’s, kids get to dine for free at Chili’s too, so I ordered a plate of spaghetti for Ethan and I was also pleasantly surprised that Ethan’s drink was on the house too. My boy loves iced lemon tea and since it was not in the list of kids’ drinks, I requested for it and was delighted that they willingly obliged. He finished the whole glass all by himself too!
All in all, the food was fantastic. I especially loved the lamb shoulder and would definitely order it the next time I go, IF I go. Service was well below par, I’m afraid. In addition to the no-smile-greeting we had, right in the middle of our meal, someone interrupted us in a weird manner, I might add, and asked us how we found our dinner. I notice this is something most restaurants practise these days, but unfortunately, it wasn’t done with tact, and so it appeared rather fake-ish.
When we were leaving the restaurant too, no one thanked us for coming, unlike the jovial goodbyes we get at Friday’s. There were no free balloons to give out to the kids at Chili’s too. But then I suppose most Malaysians tend to overlook the bad service and go for the food, huh? As long as there is bottomless chips, drinks and free food for the kids?
Wordless Wednesday 005 January 30, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 15comments
Prosperity plants & pasta January 26, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 16commentsMaybe it was because I kept seeing Chinese New Year ads all over the TV.
Maybe it was because I just sent out a whole bunch of Chinese New Year cards on Friday.
Maybe it was because I felt the living room lacked some Chinese New Year “ong”.
Maybe it was because my hands were itchy.
Maybe it was all of the above reasons in one way or another, but most probably it was because we were gonna have Ethan’s early birthday lunch celebration today, so my parents are here in Penang for a visit and yeah, so are my parents-in-law. Double the stress! So what to do, what to do, what to do? I mopped the house and gave the living room a facelift lo, like any good daughter/daughter-in-law would do.
The prosperity plant we had had long since dieded… so okay, we cheated. We bought a healthy-looking one from Jaya Jusco two days ago (RM23.80), and all I had to do was just to scoop out the old soil and replanted the new prosperity plant. The ceramic pot of course remained. The plan was working flawlessly, and I beamed with pride when MIL exclaimed, “What a healthy looking prosperity plant that is!” Unfortunately, my hubby let the cat out of the bag when he retorted, “We bought it from the supermarket laaaa!” Bummer. *grumble grumble mutter mutter*
Next, the space in the living room where once the Christmas tree stood, had been empty for about 5 days now. I took the tree down on Monday and on Friday, I brought out our pussy willow stalks in a tall vase. Fine, it was last year’s but they still look good, so I thought, “Why not?” After hanging the decorations and turning the vase a few times to ensure a perfect angle on the pussy willow stalks (hubby helped a bit with the aesthetics too), I was glad. NOW, it looks like Chinese New Year… well, save for the mandarin oranges we have yet to buy though. Do you think I have got enough decorative elements on the stalks or do I need to make some more?
On a rather unrelated note, isn’t it weird why I would crave for something Italian and cheesy when it is Chinese New Year season? When I work from home, I have the luxury to experiment in the kitchen, and pasta was the main course for lunch on Friday, as I cooked up a mushroom and herb pasta dish. So yummy, so cheesy, so calorie-laden, so…. Okay, okay, so you caught me again. I had some *help* making it (of course I “kah liu” with cheddar cheese and margarine - I didn’t have butter) Still good, no? Works for an Italian-food lover like moi!
Giddy giddy chicken stew January 14, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 15commentsAs a little girl, I remember my parents taking me to a small coffee shop in Canning Garden in Ipoh to eat steamed white rice with chicken stew. The lovely aroma of the stew with just the hint of cinnamon cooked with potatoes, carrots and juicy tender chicken was really a treat I would look forward to. I don’t think the shop is selling this any more now, but I am eternally thankful that by the by, my Mom managed to acquire the recipe for this fantastic dish, and thus was able to whip it up in the comfort of our home. I am even more grateful that my Mom has shared the recipe with me. In fact, this was one of the very first recipes I asked from Mom when I moved to Penang. I haven’t cooked chicken stew in ages though, so I figured last weekend would be a good time to do so.
My plans of cooking on Saturday, as was the norm, backfired when we had a power outage for about 6 hours, from 10:30a.m. - 4:45p.m. (another excuse I am using for being slack in blogging these days). So we ate in on Sunday instead.
The chicken stew recipe calls for mushrooms, either shiitake or button or both. But this time round I decided to use these fresh white mushrooms bought from the Jaya Jusco supermarket. Slightly pricey, but every bit worth it. I love mushrooms, so I used them all, stems and everything.
Making chicken stew is rather easy, I would say, though I made a mental note to make the gravy thicker the next time round (less water). Just stir in all the ingredients, bring to boil and simmer over a low flame. Of course, the dish tasted far better during dinner when it had been simmered much longer and the flavors had all enveloped the ingredients.
The boys thoroughly enjoyed the stew, though the older one preferred the stew slightly saltier. Point noted. 
And thus ends my cooking escapade for the weekend.
Wordless Wednesday 004 January 9, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 20comments
Giddy cauldron broils over January 7, 2008
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Memes & Tags , 16comments
So yum. So tantalizing. So seriously non-halal. So giddy. So tau-ewe-bak (soy sauce with pork), with some fat in all the right places. So watercress soup and so nai pai chye (that’s what I know it is called). That was our lunch at home on a fine Saturday afternoon.
One of my New Year resolutions to cook more often certainly has got off to a grand start. Makes it easier when I can afford to work from home Fridays. This way, I get to do some quick marketing at the nearby mini market on Friday morning and then prepare the stuff to cook a day before Saturday. And it looks like this system is working out pretty well.
Having a homecooked meal allows us time for a lazy afternoon siesta too. But last Saturday, I had nothing of that sort. While the two boys, with their tummies satisfied and full, slept soundly, John Grisham’s The Innocent Man kept me hanging on to every word. Finished reading the spectacular book and will be embarking on another novel soon, either Picoult or Kinsella. Flip coin?
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Oh yeah, so this brings me to the New Year Resolution tag from Wen. Yes, I do make New Year resolutions, but I’m afraid I tend to fall into the *flippant* category. But I am determined to carry them through this year… see, I am already on the right track 
I sincerely hope I can keep this up… it’s only January!
*Start Copy Here*
When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions we seem to fall into four categories: 1) quite serious about them, 2) be flippant about them, 3) do it because we feel pressured to, or 4) do not do them.
So, the purpose of this little game is to let us know which category you are in. Copy from “*Start Copy Here*” through “*End Copy Here*” and post it. Before “*End Copy Here*” tell us who you are, your site(s) (with link) and your New Year’s Resolution, or not.
Then tag as many others as you like, from one to your entire blogroll, your choice.
If you like, create an intro paragraph to your post that also acknowledges who tagged you.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:
Juliana – Juliana’s Site - My New Year’s resolutions are looking for a part time job, keep blogging, and learn to cook and bake.
Michelle - Rusin Roundup - 1. Learn to be happier and accept myself for who I am, 2. Is to lose about 25 lbs., and 3. Is to stop smoking.
Karen - Grow Rich Along With Me - My resolution for next year is to achieve $3K per month passive income by the end of 2008.
Mel - Attitude, the Ultimate Power & Complain Complain Complain - “I don’t need no stinking resolutions.” I never hold to them anyway so why frustrate myself by starting them now.
Sandee - Comedy Plus - I don’t need no stinking resolutions either. Years and years ago I did them because everyone else did, but not once did I follow through. Why set yourself up for failure?
Lynda - lynda’s loft - My resolution is to see resolve to that which needs resolution. Like Mel and Sandee, I feel that resolutions give us more stress, however, being a person who sets goals each year, isn’t that the same thing as a resolution??? Goals vs. resolutions? Goals are more general and allow for more time to complete them, a resolution requires a mind-set and immediate action, which is not always feasible… Well, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it…
Amelia - Amel’s Realm - This is a list of my New Year’s Resolution:
1. Health: Continue exercising twice a week, eat enough veggies and fruit, have enough rest, take vitamin C regularly and women’s multivitamin during my period.
2. Spiritual: Improve my Daily Bread reading routine and my prayer life and learn more from God’s Word.
3. Financial: Continue to make money online (my goal is getting €100 per month at least), be more creative in writing posts, and save most of the money.
4. General Life: Continue to learn Finnish AND practice it as best and often as I can, try out more baking and cooking recipes, continue to maintain and share positive thoughts, continue to learn to control my thoughts, continue to learn to catch myself before I start complaining and count my blessings instead, continue to stop and cherish all the little moments in life that oftentimes go unnoticed, and continue to feed my inner child and last but not least, continue to ENJOY my life thoroughly.
Trinity - Rooms of My Heart : My New Year’s resolutions in simple and fast way will be blog less and spend more time with my children and read more good books. I want to start studying about global warming and blog it…
Max - MAX - My New Year’s resolutions are to dedicate more time to my friends; to finally be able to read “Der Spiegel” in German; to be calm when organizing my marriage; to go one last time to my favourite club and dance the night away; and continue to be happy!
Eric - Speedcat Hollydale - I love chicken. Problem is that I really never get to have enough chicken! My New Year’s resolution is to enact “Chicken Tuesday”. On this day I will eat only chicken, blog about chicken, and promote chickens all over the world. (hormone free) Join me, won’t you?
Marzie - Mariuca & Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery - My resolution for 2008 is to enjoy a healthier lifestyle and to expand my Perfume Collection.
Sindi- Life Is A Roller Coaster - My resolution is to complain less, pray more and be a little more thankful for what I have.
Judy - Sugar Queen’s Dream - My New Year’s resolution is:
To take better care of my health.
To eat better, well at least 3 meals a day, I’m lucky these days if I stop for one meal a day….
To help make the world a better place to live, I love the human race, but think there’s always room for change.
To be generous until it hurts.
To live each day as if it’s my last.
To make a book of our personal family recipes and traditions for each of my 3 my children, so that the traditions and family cooking can be passed on in my family line long after I’m gone and finally…….
To help more with the local Human society, Animals like little kids can not fend for themselves so it’s up to each of us to take care of our pets and to step in and care for all animals…..
I hope that through me I can encourage my Children to be better adults and in turn to raise the Children they have or will have, to be good people with good, sound & solid values…. Peace!
Adrian - First Time Dad - My New Year’s Resolution for 2008 is to be a better father…now I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions because I never keep them but this one I better keep! Happy New Year to one and all!
Colin - Life - New Years Resolution? No way…Better to achieve more throughout the year rather than pander to the whims of a one day ‘wishful thought’
Mauro - 1 Million Love Messages - My resolution for next year are: 1. Change my job (maybe work online). I’m really unhappy in the actual one. 2. Dedicate more time to my family and girlfriend… maybe start to get ready for our wedding 3. Work hard in 1 Million Love Messages and reach 2500 Love messages (or more) in the end of 2008.
MidgetManOfSteel - Mental Poo - To get out of dealing with people who I have no desire in helping at the job I’m doing…catch the eye of someone who can see that I can write and be funny…and get my own ticket to happiness from my humor….and a Ferrari. While I’m doing this, I resolve to get a Ferrari.
Stacy - My Thoughts - My New Year’s Resolution for 2008 - Is to be more understanding to my children and to other people, Not to curse at others while I am driving, try to eat right and exercise, try to volunteer in my community, and to believe more in my spiritual side.
Jason - DatCurious.com & DatMoney.com - Although, I normally don’t do New Year’s Resolutions (because I find it as an excuse to actually do something I should’ve already been doing), this year I will plan on giving back to the blogging community, especially my audience. I’m not sure how I will do it yet, but I definitely will.
Kesa - Little Aussie Cynic - My New Years Resolution is the standard….. to finally get off the smokes and to loose 8kg…. both which are possible just difficult…..Happy New Year to you and yours….Aussie
Ann - A Nice Place in the Sun - “To let the rest of my life begin as soon as possible.”
Wen - Little Paces - I want to sleep early to reduce my haggard and tired complexion. To blog better than last year and hopefully can save money from paid post so that we can immigrate to Australia. To spend more time with my children. To be able to bake.
Giddy Tiger - Giddy Tigers - I resolve to fulfill my resolutions to cook more often, to reignite my reading hobby and to spend more time with my loved ones and with God.
*End Copy Here*
Happy New Year to all the following taggees!
crustacean chilli curry crabs December 6, 2007
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 18comments
Yesterday morning, while driving to work, Phat Fabes and Ben on the Fly FM morning show were on the hunt for a place selling dungeness crabs. Apparently a listener had requested for them to help him source for these crabs because he had promised to take his wife she would get to eat them as a celebration for their wedding anniversary. All this because she is a seafood lover.
Ben (on the phone in Cantonese): Cheng mun lei tei yow mai *dungeness crabs* mou? (Do you guys sell dungeness crabs here?) [how to say dungeness crabs in Cantonese wor?]
Person on the phone: Meh lei keh? (What is it?)
Ben: Hai lei keh (Crabs)
Person on the phone: Mou wor, ngo tei mou mai *dungeness crabs* (No we do not sell dungeness crabs here)
This process went on several times, but I didn’t get to hear the part where they actually found a place selling those crabs. I know they eventually were successful though, because I heard a snippet later that evening of them informing that man’s wife that she would get to eat those delicious crabs soon. Man, they’re good!
Anyway, all this talk of dungeness crabs has got me wondering if I can get hold of some here in Penang too. I do still have a box of Singapore Chilli Crab paste which I bought during my last trip to Singapore, and I would absolutely LOVE to try cooking that with dungeness crabs. I haven’t tasted these species of crabs before, but from what I read, they sound truly lip-smacking good! I think they are seasonal though, and I would really love to savour that sweet sweet crab meat, which I trust would go so well cooked with chilli. So anyone knows where I can find some in Penang? Anyone? Or should I call Fly FM?
Laksa Queen strikes again November 13, 2007
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Memes & Tags , 25commentsIt is already November now, just about one and a half months to go before we usher in the New Year. And last weekend, I was proud to pat myself on the back for a job well done because I managed to add one more checkmark on one of the New Year resolutions I made at the beginning of the year, i.e. to cook more often.
Yes, I made Sarawak Laksa for dinner last Saturday night. My Mom and Dad were in Penang for a visit, so I took the opportunity to make use of one of the Sarawak Laksa sambal packets I had in the refrigerator. A friend of mine had bought me two packets of the sambal from Sarawak a couple of months ago, so I thought it was the perfect chance to put it to good use. Besides, it has been years since I last cooked Sarawak Laksa. The thing about Sarawak Laksa is that we need to boil the sambal in water and then filter it. I don’t really like the filtering part because this would mean I need to wash an extra set of pots. After filtering, I added the chicken stock (this I made from steaming the chicken meat, not from the *buy-off-the-shelves* stock, mind you!) and some water from boiling the prawns. Coconut milk helped to seal in the taste, and of course, some salt to taste for good measure.
Oh, by the way does anyone know the shortcut to break off the tails from the bean sprouts (taugeh)? I did it the manual way and boy was it excruciating! Luckily for me, I was only cooking for four! I would say that the person who manages to create a machine to de-tail taugehs will make millions, I am sure! Anyway, all other ingredients like chicken and fried eggs were sliced thinly, and the laksa was garnished with coriander, mint leaves and the juice from half a calamansi lime. I ought to learn the art of how to make the eggs thin and fluffy from Mom though, because mine still isn’t quite there yet. The authentic Sarawak Laksa is made using vermicelli or beehoon, but I like the regular thick assam laksa noodle, so I used that instead. We each had two bowls each and were so full we could hardly move! Well, that was dinner for last Saturday. Does my Sarawak Laksa look anything like Laksa Shack’s? 
Oh, by the way, it’s not very healthy to eat till cannot move every day you know. But a little bit of everything is certainly acceptable and does wonders for the body. And having good food is definitely healthy, right? This from someone who absolutely adores food. Heh. So Healy, my healthy tip is to eat everything in moderation. The key point is not to deprive yourself of enjoyment. We only live once, after all. And yes, I am once again disguising this as a meme…
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Copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.) Share one of your own health tips (tip on how to be more healthy) with others. Try to make your tip short but informative. Tag at least 2 persons.
1. Be happy - Everyday health and beauty
2. Everything in moderation - Giddy Tigers
Happy people to tag:
Healthy & hearty breakfast November 9, 2007
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Memes & Tags , 13commentsThe RPS Overlord wants to know what I have for breakfast every day? Well, it depends (on whether it is Rock, Paper or Scissors this time round). Kidding! So I know, I know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I honestly try to eat something healthy every day. But sometimes taste overrules the healthy aspect of it, you know what I mean?
On working days, I wake up, slide quietly out of bed while the boys are still asleep and put the kettle to boil. Then I make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate or Milo, whichever suits my fancy. And usually I will have either one wholemeal nine-grain bun or one hi-fibre sunflower seed bun. No fuss, no mess. If there are no buns are available, breakfast will be two slices of bread with a slice of cheese. But lately I have been influenced (in part) by Zara’s Mama and her healthy breakfast. Although I don’t follow her recipe to the tee, I now sometimes take half-boiled free range chicken eggs (kampung chicken eggs la) for breakfast. They do taste better than the normal chicken eggs, I feel. That’s my normal day breakfast. Rather simple and not as diversified as Ehon’s, hor? Well, on weekends, it’s normally a light breakfast, followed by a brunch, usually dim sum, laden with siew mais, lormaikais, egg tarts and char siew paus. Counted also, right? Brunch = breakfast + lunch what…
Rinnah, care to share what you have for breakfast? Nasi lemak on the go? Latté? Mc-D’s big breakfast? Or come to Penang, and we go for dim sum together, want?
Ethan Boy
Our Journey of Love
