My attempt at Homemade Char Siew

Posted on March 22, 2011 by The Giddy Tigress

I used to make char siew (barbecued pork) at home using the char siew sauce bought from the stores.  But it had been some time since I last did that, and when I checked, the jar of sauce had gone past its expiry date (or what’s left of it, rather).

So when I saw pictures of the delicious-looking homemade char siew from Wingz, I knew I had to try it for myself.  I had always used pork shoulder to make my char siew, but this recipe called for sum chan pork (pork belly strips), which would produce (I suppose) a more fragrant serving of char siew.

charsiew

Sure looks deliciously juicy, doesn’t it? 😀

Posted in Drooling & Cooking | 3 Comments

Expensive Water

Posted on March 22, 2011 by The Giddy Tigress

C’mon…is Reversed Osmosis (RO) water THAT expensive?  Last I checked, it was only a few cents per liter…

water

And yet, when we had dinner at Koi Japanese Restaurant in Gurney Plaza a couple of weeks back, we were charged RM1 per glass of RO water.  We had ordered it for the kids, and the water was served in kid-sized glasses which could not have been more than 100ml per glass.

We wanted to talk to the manager to justify the charges, but we were told that the cashier was “in charge” and she would pass the message on.  So much for making ourselves heard.

Well.  They could be making an extra buck or two there, but they’re definitely losing a customer for good.

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 1 Comment

Who says playing Farmville is a waste of time?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by The Giddy Tigress

See?  Besides the joy of watching my *crops* growing beautifully, I get to make a donation to the Japan Earthquake Relief fund too.

daikon

I could only *afford* 25 FV cash, but it sure is cash well spent. 🙂

And look at the first crop of Daikons I planted, all ready for harvesting …

 daikons1

So Farmville farmers, if you have a whole load of FV cash, why not spend it wisely and do your bit to help the less fortunate?

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A Club that’s not just for Recreation

Posted on March 7, 2011 by The Giddy Tigress

Recently we had a lunch gathering at the Chinese Recreational Club (CRC) in Penang to celebrate Hannah’s birthday.  I had only been to the Chinese restaurant there once before, and that was for a wedding dinner.  Food was so-so only, but hubbs has been telling me that the food in CRC is worthy of mention, it was just that I didn’t have the chance to try it for myself yet.

And try it I did….and I was WOWed away completely.

When I made the reservation, I had already pre-ordered the dishes, just so we could have the food served immediately when all the guests arrived.  The only dish that my hubby personally specified for the pre-order was this curried prawns dish.  Apparently it is one of the restaurant’s specialties, and this curry prawn dish (RM45) is served with freshly baked bread (shown in the foreground).  I have no idea why the bread is devoid of its filling, but I wasn’t complaining, because this curry is seriously GOOD.

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Would have preferred it if the prawns were shelled, but in the end, I found out the shells could be eaten too…well, it’s an acquired taste. 🙂

We also ordered their specially made steamed tofu (RM18), which was done to smooth perfection.  It was a hit with the kids, and of course, the adults too.

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Also for the kids, we had the honey ginger chicken (RM25).  I had expected it to be much oilier, but I was glad it wasn’t so.  The chicken meat was not hard, as was usually the case for some other fried chicken dishes, instead it was tender, and the taste of honey marinade really brings out the flavor of the chicken.  The tiny yellow bits on the chicken was ginger.  I had thought it was garlic at first.

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We had spinach stir fried with century eggs (RM18).  Ideal combination of flavors, and ideal eye candy too…look how colorful it looks on the plate!  In fact, I loved this dish so much that I went home and tried to recreate it, thankfully with success 🙂

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At the last minute, we decided to order one more vegetable dish: baby long beans stir fried with minced pork (RM20).  And we’re mighty glad we did.  The long beans were done just nice and crunchy and the minced pork did not overwhelm the dish.

crc1

Finally we had steamed red lion (RM42).  Personally I prefer the red lion to the garoupa, although I know the garoupa costs more.  This simple steamed dish is a firm favorite with the young and old and this time, it didn’t fail to deliver.  The sauce was delicious and the fish was fresh, as if it was just fished out from the sea.

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I noticed there were also parties of 2 or 3 per table and they were having their regular rice and dishes lunch at CRC.  Hmmm…perhaps we could consider doing that do, some time? 🙂

I will certainly be back for more! 🙂

Posted in Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate | 2 Comments

A Poet, A Poem, A Song, A Songstress

Posted on February 28, 2011 by The Giddy Tigress

lovepoem1

For the next few days, my living room will be a little bit more colorful, because I have a pretty floral basket sitting in one corner.

I had been selected as one of the 10 finalists of the recent Gurney Plaza Love Poem contest, and we each had to present our poems on stage yesterday.  I chose to sing my poem…well, part of it anyway.

At the end of it all…

I didn’t win the 0.3 carat GIA certified diamond.

I didn’t win the 3D2N stay at a posh hotel, nor did I win any of the dining vouchers.

I didn’t win the grand prize or the 2nd or 3rd prize.

I only won the consolation prize.

…which saw me walking away with 2 bottles of Davidoff perfume, cash vouchers, and a chocolate floral bouquet (plus a free American Idol-like audition scenario – hahaha)

lovepoem2 

I had fun and basked in my 2 minutes of fame when I stood on that stage in Gurney Plaza and rendered my love poem in song.  And I won the hearts of my loved ones.

And that’s all that matters, yeah? 🙂

Posted in Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate | 3 Comments