Last weekend, we hung out at Starbucks and had drinks, without paying a single cent. It was actually a treat from my fabulous web host. I had been randomly chosen as the Happy Client winner for the month of June 2010 and had been presented with Starbucks vouchers.
How awesome is that?
Naturally, I shared them with my family, and we certainly had a great time…I wonder if my web host will be treating me to a nice dinner next? *hint hint* 🙂
Strangely enough, I do not have any recollection of any census enumerators coming to get data from my house since we moved here. Yet we have that little orange card placed on the wall just outside our house.
Hubbs took down the orange card just in time, because a couple of days later, as we were cleaning up after dinner, the doorbell rang, and I was greeted by a man and a woman, who looked pretty darn tired. The man introduced themselves by saying, “Kami dari Jabatan Perangkaan..” and I noticed the tags they were both wearing too.
I made idle conversation with them before they began asking the questions for the census. Apparently they had just broken fast (it being the first day of Ramadhan) and now they were off to do their rounds. Perhaps they were tasked with coming to homes in the evenings just so they could be sure more people would be at home after a day’s work.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t have a formal form to fill out the questionnaire. Better yet, they could have entered all the answers electronically into a system or electronic form. Nope, all they used was an old notepad and my answers were all scribbled in pencil.
For the benefit of those who have not gone through this exercise, these are some of the questions asked. Not sure why they differ from some of the other people’s questions though…
The entire question and answer session took no more than 20 minutes, and just to ensure we stick the little card (yellow this time!) to denote our home had been entered into the Census, the guy even placed the double-sided tape ready on the card for us!
The emergence of modern kopitiams, as I like to call them, has provided an opportunity for food-lovers to enjoy their favorite hawker-style food in a cozy ambience. More importantly though, these modern kopitiams do take into consideration the fact that families with kids need to be comfortable too, and hence they provide things like baby chairs and are mostly air-conditioned.
Our relationship with the modern kopitiam started with Old Town, and since then we have frequented this kopitiam almost every weekend.
However, about a month or so ago, along came a kopitiam by the name of Pappa Rich, and since it was located just down the block from the Old Town we usually go to, we decided to give it a try. The neverending crowd of patrons served as a sign that the food was not bad.
And now we’re hooked.
Not only does the food taste better than Old Town (IMHO) but Pappa Rich has taken the liberty to include a very important detail in ANY restaurant: a wash basin and a toilet (both of which are missing in the Old Town we used to go to).
Take a look at some of the food they serve:
Hainanese Chicken Rice: Both my kids LOVE this! Delicious steamed chicken rice served with bean sprouts and some soup.
Roti Bakar with Butter and Kaya: We simply LOVE this! They use the thick soft white bread (roti Bengali), just lightly browned, and there’s some butter and kaya on the side. My son only wants butter (no kaya), so this is perfect because we can mix and match the ratio of butter:kaya on our bread to our liking. For people who can’t get enough of the kaya, they also sell the kaya by the bottle.
Curry Laksa: This tastes much better than Pappa Rich’s Assam Laksa, mostly because the Assam Laksa was way too spicy for my liking. We usually order either this Curry Laksa or the Dry Curry Mee (no pictures because the presentation is not much to shout about).
Nasi Lemak: We ordered this just once, but that was enough to convince us that it tastes superb. It’s definitely miles better than its Old Town counterpart, that’s for sure, and the winning ingredient is the tasty chicken curry.
Milo Dinosaur: This is my son’s favorite drink. It’s basically iced Milo with a mountain of Milo powder scooped on top. Very tasty, but only for the Milo-addict 🙂
This is my son demonstrating how to enjoy this drink:
And our dessert du jour:
Pappa ABC: Delicious ais kacang done just right. Very generous with all ingredients and definitely a must-try, provided you still have the stomach for it at the end of your meal! 🙂
We’ve never encountered a time when Pappa Rich wasn’t filled with customers; yes, it is THAT popular… Pappa is definitely very RICH now… 🙂
Oh, by the way, just in case you were wondering, NO…we didn’t eat all the food above in one visit. With kids in tow, I have had to space out my food photography to several days. 😛
Is it a bad thing that I am totally hooked to the dance moves of this song? It’s infectious…
Yesterday, I attempted to cook something new for my family. It was my first try at making the “Three Emperor Steamed Eggs” dish, something I’d first eaten back in Ipoh when I was a little girl. It’s called “Sam Wong Tan” in Cantonese, a dish that sounds VERY royal, but is very very simple to cook indeed.
Last weekend, the owner of the organic shop I frequented gave me one century egg and one salted duck egg as a “sample” to try, so I figured I might as well cook this dish.
I consulted my Mom and also checked the internet for tips and tricks to perfect this dish. The most difficult part was to get the mixture smooth and just the right texture, not too hard and not too soft. And of course, even more tricky was to get my picky eater of a toddler to eat it.
Anyway, here’s what I used:
First I whisked the chicken eggs, and then according to the tip I got from Flavor Explosions, I added in hot water to the mixture, while still whisking it. I then sliced the century egg and arranged it together with the duck egg in the steaming bowl (I used my Corningware dish because I do not have a stainless steel plate). Next, I poured the minced pork at the base of the dish, followed by the egg mixture on top.
The mixture is then steamed on LOW heat to ensure even steaming. Before serving, I garnished with fried shallots.
For my first attempt, I would say it is very satisfactory. The texture was very Japanese-tofu-like, and very smooth. Most importantly, my *guests* all gave their thumbs up! 🙂
Have you cooked this dish before, and do you have any other tips you’d like to share with me?
Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love