jump to navigation

The E, the O, the lover-lee October 1, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 5comments

Since the electricity tariff restructuring several months ago, my electricity bill has increased (obviously).  But what boggles me is that since then, we have experienced at least two power outages.  So can someone please tell me why we are paying more for this unreliability?

Anyway, a couple of weekends back, on a Sunday, my family and I were relaxing at home, watching TV, when suddenly POOF!  there was no electricity again!

So what were we to do, but to pack up, and head off to the E&O hotel for a night’s stay….

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

No la…we are not THAT extravagant :P 

It just so happened that I had prebooked the one night’s stay because I had collected enough stamps on my E&O Heritage dining card to entitle us for a free room.  And it just so happened that there was a power outage on the day I had made the room reservation.

Usually when there is a power outage, the apartment elevators would still be working, but for some reason, both the elevators were also out, so we had to walk down the stairs…with our bags and all.  My hubby carried most of the bags, while I carried Ethan and one other bag.  It’s a wonder how we need to pack so much stuff for a night away.  And that being said, it was pretty good strength training and cardio exercise for us :)

The E&O was fantastic.  Although the room we were given was smaller than the one we had during our wedding, and it was slightly noisier, since it faced the streets instead of the sea, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Even the welcome drink tasted superb, not like dishwater like in some other hotels we’ve been to.  Oh, and a cold towel for our arrival too :)

 

Ethan probably had the most fun - enjoying himself in the bathtub and roaming all round the hotel room.  Check out the decor: ain’t it grand? 

 

I thought the inclusion of a rather antique-looking fan was so appropriate for that old world charm the hotel exudes.  Also, in the night, we experienced something like a tropical rainstorm, which made the weather quite cold, so having the fan on for circulation while we upped the airconditioning temperature was just perfect.

It was a one-day break that we all needed, to rejuvenate ourselves for the hectic days ahead…… but more on that later.

Got the pregnancy blues.. September 19, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Parenting & Motherhood , 20comments

In the cafeteria after lunch just the other day, I met someone I used to work with, and her first words when she saw me were, “You put on weight huh?”

Not “How are you?”, “How have you been?” or “How’s life?”, but those little words that spoke a gallon of truth.

Thankfully I had the perfect comeback to her statement.

Pregnancy gives one plenty of excuses, doesn’t it?

Weight gain is definitely lauded in every pregnancy but it must be a reasonable one.  This time round however, I definitely gained more weight than before.  I think I’ve already gained about 6 kilos, and I’ve only just recently started my 2nd trimester!  *Gasp!*   It’s inevitable, yes, but it is not something I look forward to in pregnancy.

I do look forward to:

I do not look forward to:

Well, I’m tired now.  And I got to get my sleep.  YAWN.  Sweet dreams, y’all!

Crazy & tasty pizza mania! September 16, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 12comments

Since Domino’s Pizza opened a branch near my apartment, I have not had the chance to try out their delivery services.  I had tasted their pizza before, and I know it’s good.

Well, last Saturday seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to order a pizza, because there was this MEGA FOOTBALL MATCH on TV, and it made full sense to enjoy dinner right in the comforts of our own home.  Ethan doesn’t really DIG pizza (yet), although he would go “peh ta! peh ta!” when he sees one, so it was a good thing that I had whipped up some wholesome delicious sweet potato porridge with ikan bilis stock for him for dinner that night.

I decided to use Domino’s online ordering service and placed my order at about 7:10p.m.  If the pizza arrived at about 7:41p.m. or 7:42p.m., we’ll get a free pizza on our next order.  Hehe…not that I was hoping for that anyway.  But 7:45p.m. came and still there was no sign of pizza.  With a growling tummy, I called Domino’s up, and the customer service officer told me that the demand was unusually high that night, so they weren’t able to deliver on time.

10 minutes later, still no pizza.  Someone from Domino’s called to check if the pizza had arrived, and I told her no.  She promised it would arrive in another 10 minutes’ time, apologizing profusely for the delay.

I actually found this episode rather ironic, because the Domino’s branch is literally just a stone’s throw away from my apartment.

FINALLY, at about 8:15p.m. our doorbell rang and we got our steaming hot pizza…and of course, a voucher for a free pizza on the next order.  Frankly I would have preferred that the pizza I ordered was free instead of giving us a voucher for our next order, but whatever.

As soon as I sank my teeth into the pizza…..wah….. it was heavenly!  And the Cinnastix I ordered?  Unlike the miserable “sticks” we get from Pizza Hut, these were humungous!  They were so generous with them!  Tasted fantastically great with the sweet icing too!

Well, of course the most glorious taste of all that night was that of victory over The Red Devils.  Liverpool beat Man U 2-1!!!  Ah, the taste of success…. I simply LURVE it!

Hoping, praying, …living September 12, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Thoughts & Scribblings , 9comments

Remember my soulful lament and heartfelt letter to my dear prosperity plant?  Since then, friends and especially those with *green fingers* have offered advice on how to resurrect my poor friend.

I tilled the soil, trimmed the dried branches and looked after it as best I could.  There was no apparent improvement for all I could see.  I even planted a few additional shoots, compliments from Ethan’s baby sitter, in the hope that these new ones will encourage the old ones to grow too.

Weeks passed and …. nothing.

Then one evening, while watching teevee, I could hardly believe my eyes when I noticed a little bud growing!  It was a fresh new shoot, all eager to make its way into the world.  A few days later, another one sprouted and I was happy as a lark.

I can’t help but wonder if this is an indication of things to come in my life.  My family and I are about to face some major changes.  Changes and experiences that would probably and possibly change our lives, if not forever, then at least for the next coming months.

This is certainly an indication of new hope, a new beginning.  I’m excited, yes, but at times, I am filled with trepidation and uncertainty.  I find myself unconsciously singing the tune from The Sound of Music….

What will this day be like?…….I wonder…..
What will my future be?….I wonder….

Indeed I wonder…..

But one thing I am certain of is that The Good Lord will be walking beside me all the way.

Entry #4 calling for votes! September 1, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 13comments

A favor I ask, in this time of dire need
As a friend or blog reader, I pray you’ll help me do the deed
Your precious vote is really all I seek
Just choose my name, it isn’t very hard indeed

All you have to do is visit Hochiak! today
Look for the poll for the USD100 giveaway
Every vote counts, so please vote for me
But hurry please, cos voting ends September 9th, you see.

Thanking you in advance for all the trouble you’ve taken
I’m Entry #4: please vote for my Ginger Sauced Chicken
Do rope in others to join in the excitement
Come one, come all, drop me a vote for the sake of entertainment!

***

Please, please, please go to Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food and vote for me in the USD100 giveaway contest!

It really takes two to tango August 26, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 26comments

Pregnancy 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 :P .

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.

***

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 , 21comments

I 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

Photo credits

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 , 21comments

It 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 :P

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) :P

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


Photo credits

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.