Storm in Penang

Posted on June 20, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

As I was heading for home yesterday evening after work, I noticed that there were many trees which had been uprooted. I saw one that fell short of a row of parked cars too. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if a car had been parked there when the tree fell! There were branches strewn everywhere. This was the aftermath of a freak storm which lashed out at Penang yesterday afternoon. When the storm happened, I was having my lunch of pathetic economy rice in my company cafeteria and was oblivious to the havoc that was being wreaked outside. However, I could see the wind blowing rather strongly and the trees were swaying too violently for my liking. I didn’t think much of it till this morning, when I heard over the radio what a catastrophe the storm had caused. And I think that’s the reason why the doormat outside my apartment was overturned too.

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 8 Comments

Y A T T A A A!!! When will I see you again?

Posted on June 19, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

Posted in Relax & Celebrate | 6 Comments

Somethin’ in the Dumplings

Posted on June 19, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

The Hokkiens call it Bak Chang.  The Cantonese call it Ham Yuk Choong.  And the rest of the food establishments serve it as part of their Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign and call it Famous Meat Dumplings.  Whatever they are called, one thing remains: They taste absolutely delicious. 

Ethan’s baby sitter gave us 4 bak changs yesterday evening, and hubby and I had a feast of a time!  What’s there not to love?  Glutinous rice: yum.  Mushrooms: yum.  Tua-pooi-bak (fatty pork): yum.  Salted egg yolk: yum.  We already finished 2 bak changs and the remaining 2 I’ve put in the fridge for consumption later today(maybe)… after all, today *is* the actual day of the Dumpling Festival.  Eating a bak chang is a novelty in itself.  Peeling away the lotus leaf and revealing a glossy-looking interior of glutinous rice is enough to make one drool.  Using a fork or spoon to pry open the chang showcasing its scrumptious contents, wafting in the aroma of the freshly steamed dumplings.  Mmmmm…. mmmm….. lip-smacking good!  And all worth the few hundred calories it adds too!

Random thought: Why is it called “ham yuk choong” (salted meat dumpling in Cantonese) but not “kiam bak chang” (salted meat dumpling in Hokkien)?

Posted in Drooling & Cooking | 10 Comments

Burn Notice

Posted on June 19, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

The alarm clock rings and Michael Weston jolts from his sleep.  He took a look at the time. 5:30a.m.  Cursing under his breath, he crawls out of bed and proceeds to get ready for work.  Being a CIA agent wasn’t easy.  He checks his phone for messages (normally there will be at least a dozen) but strangely enough today there were none.  He suddenly remembered that he was to meet with his boss that morning.  When he walked out of his apartment, he was greeted with a breeze of air that was hauntingly cold.  Colder than normal, he thought.  And as he walked into his office building he sensed a forbidding presence, an unfriendly feeling that told him he was not welcomed.  He greeted the receptionist as he usually did, but when previously he was met with a cheerful smile, today she did not even bother to look up.  His pace quickened and he walked straight towards the boardroom, where his meeting with his boss was to be held. 

“What are you doing here still?” his boss snarled angrily at him.

“We have a meeting now, don’t we?” Michael responded.

His boss gave him a menacing look, almost in contempt.  “I told you to get out yesterday.  Or wasn’t I clear enough?”  His boss paged security.

Michael’s head was spinning out of control.  What was going on?  What was his boss talking about?  Was his shot of whiskey the night before the cause of this dismissal?  Could it be that conversation he had with that mysterious lady at the bar last night?  He suddenly remembered that he scribbled something on a piece of paper.  Where was it?  Michael rushed to his desk but it was gone.  What was happening?  His co-workers stared at him coldly, in a accusatory manner.  This was happening too fast.  And he needed to know why and what happened.

Tune in to USA Network’s Burn Notice this coming June 28th to find out!

By the way, the above sneak preview is purely my own imagination on what Burn Notice will be about.  You’ll find out the true story in 2 weeks’ time.

Posted in Rainmakers | 4 Comments

I Spy With My Little Eye

Posted on June 18, 2007 by The Giddy Tigress

While out shopping last weekend (yes yes, I go shopping almost every weekend), I was amazed that there were no freebies for the daddies celebrating Father’s Day.  Okay, I admit I was actually hoping there would be some free claimable stuff… they gave flowers and chocolate brownies for the moms last month, right?  So anyways, there was nothing for the fathers.  It really looked like Father’s Day had to make way for the Mega Carnival Sale, which started on June 16 2007.  Note to self: need to go to Kay-el one of these weeks for shopping… heh heh… Hubby gently *reminded* me that “Penang also can shop what…” 😛

So back to the matter of spying.  Instead of doing a full-fledged shopping last weekend, I spotted some interesting details in the malls and areas around the malls:

There…that’s a shot of the swimming pool in the newest hotel in Penang, the g Hotel….It’s located on Gurney Drive, hence the name “g”.  Yeah, they could not think of a more creative name than that.  The swimming pool area looks picturesque, no?  This picture is akin to pictures taken by the papparazi because we spotted the pool from where our car was parked in the Gurney Plaza parking lot.  I could not help myself, because the dreadful blogivitis made me take that picture….. SIGH.  I should be able to get clearer and more descriptive pictures of the hotel this weekend, because I have a lunch invite there…. woo hoo!  Can hardly wait….I’m still deciding what to wear though… but more on that later, yeah? *wink*

The next day, I spotted this in Queensbay Mall… can you guess what it is?

Entrance to a disco? ….. W R O N G!!!!

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The latest fitness center? …. Nah…Guess again!

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Give up?

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It’s the entrance to a ……

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Spankin’ new LOO! 

Yup….located on (I think) the topmost floor of Queensbay Mall, my hubby and I were surprised to discover this hip-hop designed toilet.  Entrance is free, by the way.  And yes, it is clean.  At least for now.

On another note, I went to Friday’s yesterday…yes again! for Father’s Day.  Still cannot understand why most of my friends don’t dig this place, but man, it was jam-packed!  We had that entree on the house to redeem for Daddy too … and guess what, I got another FREE sizzling fajita meal for my next visit!  Check out the pictures from the our Father’s Day celebration here.

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 12 Comments