Chris & Connie

No Secret Recipe - Doggy Duck

2012-01-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

DOGGY DUCK

Ingredients: Amount:
Oil 1 ½ tblsp.
Ginger 100 gm (cut into slices)
Garlic 2 big cloves, minced
Duck 1 ½ kg (chopped into bite-size pieces)
Kitchap 1 tblsp.
Salt 1 tsp.
Spice mixture 20 gm (RM1.00) from Chinese Medicine Shop, crushed. 2/3 put in muslin bag.
of Pat Kok + Siao Fei remainder 1/3 sieve away fine dust and mix with duck meat.
( bunga lawang + cintan putih)
Msg ½ tsp
Oyster sauce 1 tblsp.
Black sauce ½ tblsp.

Method:
Heat oil in frying pan.
Saute ginger and garlic till fragrant.
Pour in duck meat, stir fry awhile to seal the meat.
Pour in kitchap and stir fry for a minute or two to remove the duck smell.
Add salt ( 1tsp) and put in the 1/3 sieved spice mixture.
Add msg ( ½ tsp) and mix well.
Put in muslin bag containing the 2/3 spice mixture in the centre of the meat.
Pour in 1 liter of water or enough to cover the meat completely.
Stir once in awhile, add water when necessary, if the meat is not tender enough.
Put in oyster sauce and black sauce and mix well.
Check saltiness. Simmer till meat is tender ( about 90 mins ) and till desirable amount of gravy left..
Dish out, garnish and serve.

8d5n Italy Tours (final part)

2011-12-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Day 6 – 10th Nov.2011 Pisa
After breakfast we checked out and proceeded to Pisa, Miracoli Square, the location of the famous Leaning Tower, Cathedral and Baptistery.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Cathedral + Baptistery + Leaning Tower

We spotted the statue of the legendary twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, as babies being suckled by a mother wolf.

Mother wolf suckled Romulus and Remus

There were a lot of souvenir stores near the square. We then continued our journey along the west coast highway to Milan. It was a very pleasant journey with scenic view of farms and hills dotted with residences on the slopes. The highway was built on a mountainous region but a comfortable gradient was always maintained by good engineering with countless bridges across ravines and tunnels going through ranges. It was nice feeling to look at vegetation in autumn manifesting various shades of green, yellow, orange, red and brown in the process of senescence.

Vegetation in Autumn + farm

A town on hill top

We arrived at Serravalle Designer Outlet park where one could find stores retailing A to Z brands of shoes, bags, sports wear, garments, etc. Surprisingly, most of the products were made in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. After 4 hours of shopping we proceeded to Milan arriving for Chinese dinner at Imperial Restaurant. We checked in at our last hotel of the tour – Novotel Hotel near Malpensa Airport.

Day 7 – 11th Nov. 2011 Flew from Milan to Abu Dhabi
Not long after the plane took off from Milan one could have a good view of the Alps covered with snow.

The Alps viewed through the window

on transit for 6 hours at Abu Dhabi Airport.Day 8 – 12th Nov.2011 Flew from Abu Dhabi to KLIA and back to Ipoh by bus – home, sweet home.

8D5N Italy Tour (continued)

2011-12-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Day 4 – 8th Nov. 2011 Florence - Rome
After breakfast we checked out and proceeded to Rome which took 4 hours, and reached at lunch time. We had a simple lunch of plain spaghetti, pizza, salad and ice cream.

Plain spaghetti

In the rain we toured the Vatican City, St. Peter’s square + Basilica, Coliseum, Constantine’s Arch, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Fountain.

St. Peter’s Square + Basilica in Rome

Constantine’s Arch

Coliseum – outside view

The younger group went shopping for branded handbags instead of seeing the Trevi Fountain. We had Chinese dinner before checking in Idea Hotel in Rome for the night.

Day 5 – 9th Nov. 2011 Rome – Florence
After breakfast we travelled back to Florence. We had a photo stop at Michelangelo’s Square where one could enjoy a panoramic view of Florence City.

Panorama of Florence City

We had a good Italian lunch at Fantasia Restaurant – a generous helping of pasta and spaghetti, a big chicken drumstick and baked potato, salad and fruits.

Pasta + spaghetti + minced meat sauce

Chicken drumstick + baked potato

Then we had a guided tour of popular tourist spots of Florence City – the Arno riversides, Holy Cross Cathedral, Santa Maria Dei Fiore Cathedral. The striking feature of the construction of that Cathedral was the colour schemes of the walls and floors were formed with pieces of marble cut to the exact size and shape. Admirable workmanship !

Santa Maria’s Cathedral

After some shopping for souvenirs, handbags, ice cream, etc, we proceeded to Pisa, 2 hour journey from Florence. We had dinner at Peking Restaurant and checked in at Tulip Inn for the night.

(to be continued)

8D5N Italy Tour

2011-11-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

8 Days – Whole of Italy
5th – 12th November 2011

Day 1 – 5th Nov.2011
We flew Etihad, Airlines of the UAE, from KLIA to Abu Dhabi, on transit for 3 hours, then from Abu Dhabi to Milan. We touched down at 7.00 am Italy time on 6th Nov.2011

Day 2 – 6th Nov.2011 Milan – Verona
A tour coach picked us up at 8.30 am and took us to Milan City to visit the Duomo of Milan (Cathedral of Milan) – the World’s largest Gothic Cathedral, built in the 14th Century, which took more than 400 years to complete. The cathedral is a forest of stone pinnacles, flying buttresses, & more than 3500 statues and one could get a fantastic panoramic view of Milan from its roof. From the cathedral square, one could see the Opera House, Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II.

Duomo of Milan

Interior of the Duomo

Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II

We were attracted by an old man ‘basking’ with his saxophone. He blew ‘Summertime’ and ‘Speak Softly Love’ rather sadly expressed. Connie thought he deserved 1 Euro.

“Summertime”

The square was full of tourists as well as pigeons crowding near tourists who fed them grains.

Pigeons expecting some grains from Connie

We had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant before proceeding to Verona,169 km from Milan, to visit Juliet’s home. Juliet’s balcony was exceptionally popular for snapshots.

Juliew at the balcony

There was also a ruined remain of the Arena.

Arena

The younger group of ladies preferred shopping for branded handbags. From 4-6pm we travelled to Venice and had dinner at Choong Hwa Restaurant before checked in at Novotel Hotel for the night. It was a very tiring and torturing start of the tour.

Day 3 – 7th Nov.2011 Venice
Morning call at 6am, breakfast at 7am, and checked out at 8am. Proceeded to Port Tronchetto to take a boat toVenice. We had a gondola ride @25Euro/head for 30 minutes only.

Gondola ride

A Chinese lady tour guide took us for a walking tour of Venice to visit popular spots of Venice – Doge Palace, St. Mark Basilica, St Mark’s Square, Bridge of Sighs, and a glass making workshop.

St.Mark’s Square

St. Mark’s Square viewed from the sea

After that it was free and easy, shopping for souvenir, branded handbags, etc. For lunch we had squid ink sauce spaghetti.

Squid Ink sauce spaghetti

After lunch we went back to Port Tronchetto and continued our journey to Florence which took 3 ½ hours. We were just in time for dinner at Hua Qiao Restaurant. Then we checked in Hotel Croce Di Malta in Florence which looked old outside but modern inside.

(to be continued)

Phuket tour by bus

2011-09-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Hatyai-Krabi-Phang Nga-Phuket (5D/4N) 31/8/11 – 4/9/11
Super VIP Bus tour organised by Cai Shen Yeh Tour and Travel, Batu Gajah

During the Merdeka / Hari Raya Puasa holidays, Connie and I joined a tour by bus to Thailand covering Hatyai, Krabi, Phang Nga, Coral Island and Phuket. The group of 30 consisting mostly of senior citizens from Batu Gajah, Pusing, Bemban, a young couple from Tronoh and a cute little girl of 2 years old brought along by the grandma and grandpa. The journey started at 12.05 am on 31/8/11 and reached the Thai border at about 7.00 am. We were greeted by our Hakka speaking tour guide, Mr. Lee Yew Choy from Betong. From then on there was never a boring moment for the group because he was able to keep us entertained with jokes, songs, stories, riddles, common words translation from Chinese to Thai which sounded vulgar in Hakka. On the whole, the tour was interesting, good food, good company, comfortable hotels and happy shopping, but the ending was rather distressing because the bus broke down just at the custom check point at Sadao, delaying our journey home.

Tour guide Lee Yew Choy singing

Highlights of the tour.
a) Day 1 -31/8/11- BG to Krabi
On the way to Krabi we stopped at Emerald Pool – nicknamed mini Juijaigo (China). It was a disappointment because the pathway of wooden planks were in the process of replacement with concrete slabs. The beautiful part of the waterfall was not accessible.

We arrived at Krabi at night, checked in Heritage Hotel to pass the night. Krabi is a tourist town, full of activities at night.

Restaurant at Krabi

Heritage Hotel we stayed

Our tour bus

b) Day 2 – 1/9/11 - Phuket
Cruise to PhangNga National Park to see two famous islands, Khao Ping Kan (Hills leaning against each other) and Khao Tapu (Nail ), known as James Bond Islands, in the Andaman Sea. Passed by a Floating Muslim Fishing Village with a few hundred families.
A Muslim Community – beside fishing they are also operating Restaurants for tourists.

The boats went through a sea tunnel before reaching “James Bond” Islands. From the crowd gathering here and the number of souvenir stalls, one could conclude it is a popular tourist spot all because of the 007 show – The Man with the Golden Gun, filmed here in 1974.

Sailing through a sea tunnel

Khao Tapu - boats and ships were prohibited from sailing to this bay.

Khao Phing Kan

A geological mystery – how it happened ?

Look at those souvenir stores.

Lee Yew Choy our tour guide.

Visited a Gems Gallery with ISO 9002 certificate- claim to be the biggest jewelry factory in the world.

Arrived at Aloha Villa, the hotel we stayed for 2 nights at Patong, Phuket. After checked in, it was free and easy to explore Patong and its night life plus some shopping. Patong is quiet and sleepy in the day but bursts to life at night till morning.

c) Day 3 – 2/9/11 - Phuket
Visited a Buddhist temple before tooking a speed boat ride to Coral Island for swimming in crystal clear water on white sand beach. Other sea activities available were snorkeling, parachute sailing, scuba diving, coral watching on boat, etc, all come with additional charge. We wanted to try out parachute sailing (RM70 per minute ) but the crowd saved our money.
After coming back from Coral Island we had a nice buffet lunch at Thai Naan Restaurant
( > 50 dishes )
Next stop was the Laem Phromthep Cape on a hill where we could get a beautiful sea view of the Andaman Sea.

Connie says “I can fly!”

Then, we proceeded to the Snake Farm which houses various types of poisonous snakes. After watching a snake performance we were introduced to snake products. Products from this snake farm included antidote for snake bite, pills for rheumatism, aphrodisiac from snake penis, plus other magical cures.

Playing with cobra

Next stop was a pearl factory

The best item of the day was the FantaSea Show – a variety show of 75 minutes consisting of magic, circus, cultural dance, wayang kulit, etc. Strictly no picture taking in the theatre. Our cameras, hand phones, and video cams were quarantined till the show ended. Even Disneyland do not impose such a fuss. The location is a mini Disneyland with buildings of fanciful architecture and colourfully lighted at night. Entrance fee of RM165 comes with a grand buffet dinner in a ‘palace’ just before show.

Imitation of Khao Tapu

Buffet dining hall, like palace

One of those fanciful buildings

d) Day 4 – 3/9/11 Phuket – Hatyai
We left Phuket for Hatyai.
At a slope, the bus ran out of fuel. Our journey was held up for one hour. We stopped over at Trang for lunch.
Arrived at Hatyai, had dinner before checked in V.L. Hotel. It was free and easy for everyone – shopping, massage, sexy show, etc

Ice cream block with durian flavour we enjoyed

e) Day 5 – 4/9/11 - Depart Hatyai to home – a bitter but memorableA journey.
Arrived at Sadao custom check at 5.00 pm, the bus stalled for the 2nd time, again ran out of fuel. This time it was more serious – battery gone flat and starter coil burned. While waiting for the rescue bus from Ipoh to come, our tour leader’s wife spotted a bus passing through without a single passenger. She ran after the bus and managed to stop her to ask for help. The two bus drivers were young ladies !

Transferring our baggage and goodies to another bus at Sadao Custom check

We were relieved to know that we would not be stranded at the check point till midnight. We stopped at Alor Star for dinner then to Juru to change to the rescue bus from Ipoh, arriving home at 2.30 am. on 5th September 2011 with sweet and unforgettable memories of the tour.

Kuching Tour

2011-05-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Kuching Tour

Day 5, (last day) 7 / 5 / 2011

9.30 am. After breakfast we drove to UNIMAS to have a brief tour of the campus. We were quite impressed with the golf course at the entrance to project a nice feeling for the visitors. The buildings were of modern architecture and the lake garden area was also well landscaped. We drove back to town to visit Dayang Salha Layer cake factory which was located just over the opposite bank. We did some last minute shopping at the Bazaar for souvenirs before checking out at 1.30 pm. We returned the rented car at the Airport at 2.00 pm and took off at 3.00 pm, touched down at Penang at 5.00 pm. leaving sweet memories of the Cat City.

Crossing the Sarawak river by boat - fare RM0.50 per head ( one way )

Sampling many varieties of layer cake.

We got what we wanted

Symbol of the Cat City

A sape nicely framed

Kuching Tour

2011-05-19T01:48:00.000-07:00

Kuching Tour

Day 4, 6 / 5 / 2011

We rented a Proton Wira for two days and drove around with the help of GPS. After breakfast we drove to Bako National Park jetty point where we parked the car and took a boat ride to Bako National Park. The boatman was willing to take us for a cruise to see sea-stacks with an extra charge. We spent four hours in the park, walking around looking for animals and jungle trekking. We saw a monitor lizard and a big wild boar roaming around the park HQ area searching for food. Connie and I took a short trail along the coast which took us two hours to and fro. On the way we spotted three proboscis monkeys. After an exhaustive walk, we had a good rest and had lunch at the park cafe before the boatman took us back to the jetty at 3.15 pm. We drove back to town and rested in the hotel room until dinner time.

Boat ride to the Bako National Park

A sea stack with an interesting shape.

A family of proboscis monkeys

The lonely wild boar

Kuching tour

2011-05-18T01:47:00.000-07:00

Kuching tour

Day 3, 5/5/2011

9.15 a.m. After breakfast we had a van and driver ready to take us to Semenggoh Wildlife Sanctuary to see orangutans. Yu – N did not come along because he attended the Imagine cup competition at Pullman hotel. By the time we reached there at about 10.00 a.m. there was already a crowd, mostly whites, busy taking pictures of Richie and his family ( 4 or 5 ), some feeding and some swinging from tree to tree. Next we visited the Jong’s Crocodile farm cum mini zoo nearby. Besides crocodiles there were many species of animals like sun bear, otter, civet cat, cassowary ( a flightless bird), arapaima ( a giant fish species from the Amazon ). At 11.00 am. it was “show time” where many hungry crocodiles in a pond were made to jump for a chicken hung above on a cable. To some this show was amusement but to me, this was real cruelty to animals. We left the crocodile farm at 12.00 noon to Bau for lunch. We visited two caves, the Wind caves and the Fairy caves. Since it would be difficult to explore with the two little boys, we satisfied ourselves by just taking a look at the entrances. On the way back to Kuching we visited a pottery, a factory making mainly ornamental vases, a bird nest processing factory and the Sarawak museum. We arrived at hotel at 4.00 pm. completely tired out and enough of touring for the day. After rested we treated ourselves with a nice dinner at “Top Spot” restaurant.

Richie enjoying his feed.

They must be Richie’s kids, still young and playful.

Handsome cassowary – a flightless bird

Poor crocodile : “How to jump so high ?”

Entrance to the Wind caves

Kuching Tour

2011-05-17T04:46:00.000-07:00

Kuching Tour

Day 2 4 / 5/ 2011

This was the first breakfast we had in hotel. There was a good spread of food and varieties of Western, Oriental and local delights. After breakfast we had a package tour to the Cultural Village at Santubong from 10.00am. – 1.00 pm. The Sarawak Cultural Village Tour featured different models of Longhouses of Sarawak natives – Bidayuh, Penan, Iban, Orang ulu, Melanau besides traditional Malay house and Chinese farm house. The best attraction of the tour was the cultural dance performance telling stories of happenings in their daily living with nice music accompaniment. We had lunch in the village cafe savouring some local delights like kolo mee and laksa. Our tour guide cum driver took us to Damai Beach Resort for a brief view of this beautiful resort hotel before sending us back to town. After resting awhile we took Justin by taxi to see a doctor for body rashes. We had a bus ride back to town and had dinner in a Chinese hawker store while waiting for the rain to stop. We took a short walk back to hotel shielding ourselves from the drizzle with an umbrella and 2 raincoats. What an adventurous evening !

Justin watching Grandma pounding rice.

An Iban lady demonstrates the weaving of a traditional dress.

An orang ulu playing the sape

Angie climbing up a multi-storey Melanau house with Justin.

Connie demonstrates how to grind wet rice powder using a set of “mor”

Connie demonstrates how to carry a pair of “lor ”

“Justin, would you like to sleep on this cradle ?”

Cultural dance performance

A Simple and Happy Anniversary

2011-05-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

1st April 2011

Connie and I were ‘foolish’ enough to get married on 1st April 1973. This 1st April 2011 was our 38th Wedding Anniversary. Since everyone was home, it was a good opportunity to take a family photo for remembrance. After singing and cake cutting ceremony, we all enjoyed ourselves over a tiramisu.

Everyone was struggling to maintain a smile for an auto ‘timed’ shot except Rosalie. She ‘seemed’ to be busy reminding grandpa to look in front while Gabriel gor gor trying hard to attract her attention to look in front.

Kuching Tour

2011-05-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Kuching Tour, 5D4N (3rd – 7th May 2011)
Tour group consisted of Yu – N, Angie, Julian, Justin, Connie and yours truly, Christopher.

Day 1 – 3 / 5 / 2011
Took off by AirAsia from Penang International Airport at 10.00 a.m. and touched down at Kuching International Airport at 12.00 noon. We took taxi to town and checked in our Hotel, Grand Margherita.
After lunch we rested in the room from 3.00-5.00 pm because we were quite reluctant to walk around town under the hot sun, while Yu – N , Angie and their 2 kids went for a boat ride.
We all went for a river cruise from 5.30 – 7.00 pm. to admire the nature and culture view on both sides of the river. The leisurely cruise gave us a good view of this Cat City with many high rise buildings and famous landmarks like the Dewan Undangan Negeri, Astana, Chief Minister’s residence, Fort Margherita, etc. There was also a solo cultural dance performance by the orang ulu tribe depicting a hunting trip with a blowpipe. Cordial drink and layer cake were served on board. The cruise ended just as the sun bid us farewell for the day with a splendid display of its beautiful rays perfectly blended with the cloud. We called it a day after dinner at Ipoh Town Kopitiam (in Kuching not in Ipoh.)

The Cruise Boat - EQUATORIAL

Blowpipe dance

Beautiful sunset scene

A panorama of the Sarawak river view
Sarawak State Assembly on the left bank, Kuching City on the right bank.

Connie's collection - 'Simply simple recipes'

2011-02-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

HOME BREW RAISIN WINE

You need one 3000 ml glass bottle with cover.

Ingredients

(A)Water 2000 ml
and Brown sugar 500 gm
(B)Raisin 350 gm ( can use blackcurrant raisin)
(C)Yeast biscuits 3 (big)

NB: Observe sterility as follows:-
Scald the glass bottle and the cover with slightly cool down boiling water.
Cover the bottle and leave aside.

Method

Boil (A) over medium fire. When it is boiling, pour in (B), cover and bring to boil again.
Off the fire and let it cool down. Best to boil in the late evening, leave overnight, then brew the next morning.
Brewing: Scald a ladle and scoop the mixture into the prepared glass bottle. Smash (C) and sprinkle into the mixture. Cover it and tighten lightly. When fermentation takes place the raisins will float. Stir the top every 2-3 days with a scalded teaspoon. ( DON’T stir the bottom up – it will turn very milky.) Brew for 30 days. Put a tag on the bottle to remind you of the harvest date.
Harvest: Utensils - ladle, strainer, and jug to be scalded with boiling water.
Don’t disturb the mixture. Put strainer over the jug. Scoop the raisin out onto the strainer with the ladle. Don’t disturb the bottom. Gently pour out the liquid, stop immediately when reaches the milky part. Discard the milky part. Don’t press the raisin, let the liquid drip for a while and discard it.
You will get 2 litres of clear raisin wine.

DRUNK CHICKEN SOUP or RAISIN WINE CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients:

Sesame oil or cooking oil 2 tblsp
Ginger 100 gm (cut to 2 mm thickness slices )
Kampong chicken ½ bird ( 800 gm) chop to about 15 pieces
Light soya sauce 2 tsp
Mok Yi (Black fungi) a handful, soak for 1 hour and wash clean
Water 250 ml
Salt 1 tsp
Sugar 2 tblsp
Ajinomoto a pinch
Raisin wine 250 ml

Method:

Heat oil or sesame oil in a clay pot. Stir fry ginger slices till fragrant. Add in chicken and stir fry for a while. Next add light soya sauce and mok yi and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Pour in water, add in salt, cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes.
Then pour in raisin wine, sugar and ajinomoto to enhance the taste.
Reduce to slow fire, bring to boil. Off the fire and the soup is ready.
Serve it hot !

Connie's collection - 'Simply simple recipes'

2011-02-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

QUEUE NYUK ( YAM STEAM WITH BELLY PORK)

Ingredients: (for 10 persons)

Yam ( taro ) 600 g
Belly pork 600 g

Marinate ingredients:

Shallot (onion) 6 ,thumb size ( minced )
Garlic 5 cloves (minced )
Lam Yee ( red fermented yam cubes) 2 cubes
Sugar 2 tblsp
Cooking wine 1 tblsp
Salt 1 ¼ tsp
Light soya sauce 10 ml
Oyster sauce 10 ml
Black (thick) soya sauce 10 ml
5 spice powder 1 tsp
Ajinomoto ,MSG, (optional) a pinch

Method:

Cut yam into slab-shape pieces ( 5 cm x 5 cm x 1 ½ cm)
Deep fry in oil to seal skin. ( do not over fried ) Remove some of the oil
but leave a portion for frying pork.
Bathe the chunk of meat with a little bit of light soya sauce. Dab dry and fry in the oil till
Skin is slightly dark brown. Leave to cool down, then cut to slabs (cross-section) approximately same size as the yam slabs.
Fry the minced shallot and garlic with 2 tblsp oil till fragrant and brown.
Smash the Lam Yee ( red fermented yam ) then add all other marinate ingredients, mix well to make a smooth paste.
Put in the pork piece, mix well and marinate for 2 – 3 hours.
Arrange yam and pork alternately in a bowl with the pork skin side facing down. Pour all remaining marinate over the pork and yam. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over surface.
Steam in pressure cooker for 35 minutes. ( Normal steaming in pot or frying pan may take 90 mins) Ready for steaming

To serve – put a plate over the queue nyuk bowl, then place your thumbs on top of the plate and other fingers at the bottom of the bowl, quickly but carefully, turn over. So, now it is bottom up – Beautiful !

After steaming

Over-turned and ready to serve

ST. PAUL THE HERMIT FEAST DAY AT PAPAN - 16TH JANUARY 2011

2011-02-01T01:28:00.000-08:00

The shrine of St. Paul the Hermit is situated on top of a hillock at the end of Papan town. It was established more than 20 years ago by some shepherds who pray to St. Paul the Hermit for safety and protection of their livestock from harm. From a very simple start of a shed it has gradually developed to a decent concrete building with awning shed plus electricity and water supply. The shrine was built next to an abandoned water reservoir. The working committee deserves compliments for their untiring efforts to develop the shrine.
Annually, at the month-end of January, a feast is organised without fail. This year the feast was held on 16th January 2011. Few hundreds of faithful devotees from around gathered for mass and prayers. Fr. Robin Andrews, parish priest of Batu Gajah St. Joseph’s Church , celebrated mass. After mass, the devotees carried the statue of St. Paul the Hermit and went in procession around the reservoir. Finally, it was time for feast. All enjoyed themselves with a hot and spicy lunch of rice with curry chicken, curry mutton, vegetables, etc. The delicious lunch attracted also many devotees of another kind. They too had a good fill of free food. Hope to meet again next year.

Eucharistic celebration

Procession

It is feast time.

Really delicious !

CONNIE’ S COLLECTION – Simply Simple Recipes

2011-01-08T02:03:00.000-08:00

Mushroom with Belly Pork – for 3 persons.

Ingredients

A. Mushroom 50 g ( soak overnight with ½ tsp of sugar in water )
B. Belly pork 200 g
C. Star anise 1 small star
D. Cinnamon bark 1 inch (chop-stick size)
E. Garlic 2 cloves
F. Salt ½ tsp
G. Sugar ¼ tsp
H. Water 150 cc
I. Oil 20 – 30 cc
J. Roasted pork / bone 1 piece ( 2 finger size) to enhance flavour
K. Oyster sauce 1 dessert spoon
L. Mix vegetable ( carrot, cauliflower, sweet peas.)
M. Thick black sauce 1 tsp
N.Corn flour 2 tsp

Method

Put (A – J ) in a clay pot. Bring to boil. Reduce to slow fire. Stirring every 10 minutes
to avoid burnt. Simmer for 45 mins. Put in oyster sauce. If too dry – add a bit of water.
Put in mix veg. and mix well. Cover and bring to boil. Add in thick black sauce.
Put in corn flour-water mixture, a little at a time , just enough to thicken the gravy. Dish out and
Serve. Enjoy with rice !

A COOL CLEAR CHRISTMAS FOR THE GRANDS

2010-12-30T22:47:00.000-08:00

The top floor balcony of our 2 1/2 storey house has not been much utilized except for occasional viewing of Kledang Hill and fireworks in Ipoh. We thought of converting it into a play-room for the grands. For a start, we bought a SNAPSET swimming pool of diameter 6 feet and depth 1 foot. For this Christmas the grands had a good time playing water toys and enjoyed splashing cool water in the pool under the clear blue sky.

Only Gabriel and Julian were enjoying themselves.

(Justin was sleeping, Rosalie was too small to go in the pool)

Connie's collection - 'no secret recipes'

2010-12-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

NASI LEMAK - OR

Sambal for nasi lemak – for 15 servings

Ingredients

Oil 250 cc ( 1 cup)
A. Small onions – 4 (sliced)
B. Dried chilly paste – 100 gm
C. Big onions – 3 ( cut coarsely)
D. Ikan bilis – ½ bowl ( chopped and blend)
E. Assam keping (gelugor) - 5 pieces ( soak in 150 cc water and blend)
F. Water -3/4 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 3 tblsp
Ajinomoto – ½ tsp
Belachan - to taste

Method

Heat the oil in pan.
Fry A till fragrant. Put in B and fry till oil comes up, then pour in C and stir for a while.
Put in D, stir and let mixture simmers for a while. Then add in E and F.
Add salt and sugar to suit taste. Lastly, add Ajinomoto and belachan .

Serve sambal with nasi lemak.

Nasi lemak – for 4 persons

Ingredients

Rice - 2 cups
Water - 3 cups
(use same cup for measuring rice and water)
Coconut milk - 100 gm
Small onions - 2
Ginger - 3 slices
Pandan leaves - 2 blades
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Ajinomoto - a pinch

Method

When rice is bubbling in rice cooker, stir and mix well.

Serve when rice is still warm with sambal, cucumber, hard boiled egg or fried egg,
fried ikan bilis, fried peanuts and fried salted fish (optional).

Ingredients

Sambal

Enjoy !

LITTLE SISTERS WITH BIG HEARTS FOR THE POORS

2010-12-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

10th Dec 2010
A visit to the Holy Family Home for the Elderly, better known as Little Sisters of the Poors, at Lorong Batu Lanchang, Penang. We visited the Home with the sole intention of meeting Fr. Decroix, the parish priest of St. Joseph’s Church Batu Gajah from 1992 – 2002. SJC was his last parish before retiring at 80. He stayed in Stella Maris till August 2010.
Fr. Decroix still looks fit except that he carries a walking stick to stabilize his steps at difficult situations. His ability to express his plan for the coming years showed that he is mentally alert. We thought he should be comfortable here but from our conversation we understood that this was not his wish. He would prefer to remain at Stella Maris to enjoy his writing and solitude. Unfortunately, he was perceived as old and be treated as old. Jokingly, he told Connie ‘ don’t get old’ and Connie replied to him ‘don’t get older’.

The new home, rebuilt and reopened in October 2009, looks like a resort hotel. Besides food and lodging, the residents are provided full health care and recreation facilities, enabling them to enjoy life until the moment God calls them home. Even though they are near death every minute of their lives is worth living because the Little Sisters are caring for them with big hearts.

Seated: Fr. Decroix, Standing: Connie and Christopher. Taken at the Dining Hall

The main entrance to the reception and dining hall.

Panorama of the Home

A Weekend with the Grands

2010-12-20T22:14:00.000-08:00

We spent the week-end (10-12 Dec 2010) visiting our 2 sons’ families. Yu – N and Angie have 2 boys, Julian and Justin, while Yu Niq and Chui Ying have 1 boy, Gabriel and 1 girl, Rosalie. It was really enjoyable playing with the 4 grands, and pleasing to see them grow and develop each one’s unique character and ability. Indeed we are glad !

Grandma with the 4 grands

Grandma with Justin

Grandpa and grandma with Rosalie

Connie's collection - 'no secret recipes'

2010-12-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yummy Yam cake (taro cake) a.k.a “Wu tao goh” [ for 4 persons ]

Ingredients:

(A)
Yam - 200 gm, cut into 1 cm. cubes (dice shape)

(B)
Flour mixture - 1 cup, ( 2/3 cup rice flour + 1/3 cup wheat flour ) use 200 cc. cup
Salt - ¾ tsp
Sugar - ½ tsp
Ajinomoto - ¼ tsp (optional)
5 spice powder- 1 tsp
Water - 2 1/3 cups

Topping
Shallots (small onions) - ½ bowl )
Dried prawns - ¼ bowl ) fry together till golden brown
Choy po ( preserved radish) - ¼ bowl )
Peanuts - ¼ bowl, fried and pound coarsely
Spring onion - chopped for garnishing (optional)

Sauce
For easy preparation, use Thai chilly sauce – sweet and sour

Method
Fry (A) in a pan with a tblsp of garlic oil.
Sprinkle a bit of water, cover pan and cook it till slightly soft.
Sprinkle ¼ tsp 5 spice powder, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp sugar, and a pinch of Ajinomoto.
Mix well and dish out.

Mix (B) well in a pot and cook it over slow fire, stirring all the time till thickens.
Pour (A) into (B) and mix well.
Then pour mixture into a tray ( 18 cm. diameter x 4 cm. depth )and steam for 20 minutes till cooked.
Let it cool down and serve with topping.
Enjoy with Thai chilly sauce.

Happy Birthday Gabriel

2010-12-06T01:40:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our first grandson’s 5th birthday (22 Nov 2010) on 20th Nov. 2010 in KFC restaurant at First Curve, Menglembu Baru. It was also the first home-coming to Menglembu for YiQing a.k.a Rosalie Cheah, since born on 9 Sept. 2010 We were doubly glad.
Gabriel was very anxious to open the presents, especially the one from Grandma. He could not wait to open it. Before popo brought the birthday cake he asked mummy for permission to open it.

Mummy,may I open the present ?

Let me take a peek

What is this ?

Wow ! it is a space fighter. A robot ! This is what I want.

Cutting birthday cake

grandpa, grandma, Rosalie, papa, Gabriel, and mummy

popo, goong-goong, QQ, Gabriel, Yiyi and Hanson

suk goong, suk po, Gabriel

Papa, Rosalie, Gabriel and Mummy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABRIEL

Bali tour 24-27Nov2010

2010-12-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bali 4D3N (24-27 November 2010)

Tour group consisted of Ayatollah and Siew Wan, Kai Foo and Rose, Christopher and Connie.

Day 1 (24.11.10)
9.30 am Took AirAsia at LCCT of KLIA and arrived Bali Denpasar International Airport at 12.30pm. Nyoman picked us and sent us for lunch at Maliboro Restaurant before checking–in Losari Hotel and Villas at Legian. We enjoyed some of the local favourites - Bebek Presto Bakar, Ayam Presto Telor, Tahu telur, Plecing Kangkung with Nasi putih. It was a delicious lunch. The fried duck and chicken were so crispy that even the bones could be chewed like ‘keropok’

4.00pm Visited Bali bombing memorial at Legian-Kuta.
( with name list of 200+ victims killed on 12th October 2002)

Bali Bombing memorial

5.00pm Visited Uluwatu temple ruin on top of a sea-coast cliff. Beside tourists many long tailed macaque monkeys were seen searching for food. These monkeys were well-known for snatching spectacles. Nyoman warned us not to wear our spectacles / sunglasses. What an unusual animal behaviour ? Siew Wan did not heed Nyoman’s advice because last year she came and was also given similar warning by the tour guide but nothing happened. While busy snapping pictures an alpha male snatched her spectacles from behind. Siew Wan shouted for help and was relieved when a temple worker returned her spectacles. But not for free ! He showed a ‘thumb rubbing fingers’ sign expecting a reward. Nyoman gave him IDR10,000 on behalf of Siew Wan. That snatch-thief monkey was seen eating a packet of wafer given by the temple worker. Oh ! this must be a man-monkey-connection to ‘extort’ tourists. This phenomena could be an interesting subject for research by animal behaviourist. The upset caused by the naughty monkeys was compensated by the spectacular view of the sea-coast, especially the high cliff and the surf.

6.30pm Had grilled seafood dinner at Jimbaran bay “Baliku Cafe” We took a package with a price tag of IDR 750,000 + 21% service tax ! The package included 1 kg lobster, prawns, snapper, crabs, squids, mussels, rice, vegetables and 2 bottles of beer. We enjoyed the dinner like ‘millionaires’. The beautiful sunset improved our appetite too.

Our tour group of 3 couples - had dinner at ‘Baliku’ cafe located at Jimbaran Bay
(Sitting from left: Kai Foo, Rose, Connie. Standing from left: Ayatollah, Siew Wan, Christopher)

8.00pm. Back to hotel for a short rest and came out for night shopping before retiring at 10.00pm.

Day 2 (25.11.10)
Ubud and volcano tour

9.00am After breakfast we set out to Mt. Batur, a dormant volcano mountain at Kintamani. On the way we visited a batik workshop and Ubud Art Village. We entered a painter’s house compound to admire his gallery of paintings.

A painter's gallery home

Our journey to the mountain passed by beautiful rice terraces at Tegalalang. From Lake View Hotel and Restaurant we got a panoramic view of Mt. Batur and Lake Batur. We had buffet lunch at the restaurant.
On our downhill journey we stopped over at Temen coffee and spice garden for tea.
In the afternoon we visited Ubud Palace temple and Ubud market.
For dinner we tried Babi Guling at a road side warung in Sanur. We were not impressed by the babi guling, probably because we have a much better version of suckling pig at home.
8.00pm Back to hotel for a short rest and spent the rest of the night shopping and shopping till we were tired out to rest at 10.00pm.

Mt. Batur

Lake Batur

Day 3 (26.11.10)
Lake Beratan and Tanah lot tour

9.00am We set out to Bedugul, a hill resort somewhat like Cameron Highlands but much smaller.
On the way we visited Mengwi temple, a royal family temple at Taman Ayun. At the highest point, we stopped over to visit Candikuning fruit market. Beside fruit stores there were many other stores selling vegetables, spices, plants, souvenirs, paintings, crafts, clothings, etc.
12.30pm we had lunch at Ananda restaurant selling Chinese food.
After lunch we went to Lake Beratan resort and had a view of Ulundanu temple near the lake.

3.30pm Arrived at Tanah lot (tanah laut) to visit the sea temple built on an off-shore island.
On the way to the temple we could find many stores selling souvenirs, clothing, art and craft, etc
Things could be dirt-cheap provided you know the art of bargaining. If you managed to slash 50% off the opening price it would be a good buy.

Sea Temple at Tanah Lot

7.00pm Arrived at hotel. After keeping our purchases at Tanah Lot in our room, we walked out to the beach behind Losari Hotel for a stroll. We had Nasi Padang for dinner, then back to hotel to sleep.

Day 4 (27.11.10) Last day

9.00am We spent the morning walking along the beach and had last minute shopping at Legian before checking-out at 12.00 noon.
12.30pm. Nyoman picked us up and proceeded to Denpasar city to visit Museum, temple, People’s Struggle Monument, Holy Spirit Cathedral, Nyoman’s home and Sanur Beach.

People’s Struggle Memorial Monument at Denpasar

4.30 pm Arrived at Denpasar International Airport waiting for check-in to fly home. We had early dinner of Nasi Padang again at the Airport. The price of nasi padang was surprisingly cheap.
7.45pm Took off and arrived at LCCT, KLIA at 10.30pm.
Arrived Menglembu at 3.30am by van with beautiful memories of Bali.

Holy Spirit Cathedral at Denpasar

Inside Holy Spirit Cathedral

The hotel we stayed - Losari Hotel at Legian

Our tour guide cum driver – Mr. Nyoman and yours truly, Christopher

Cameron Trip 29.9.08

2008-10-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Our elder son, Yu -N, and his wife Angie, invited us to come along for a trip to Cameron Highlands for the raya break. They took along their son, Julian, i.e. our grandson, to let him experience the cool weather of Cameron. We spent 3 days and 2 nights up there and lodged at Star Regency Hotel & apartments at Brincang. The weather was surprisingly cold, windy and rainy - just the type of weather Cameron should have. However, recent development in the highlands increases demand for more land for agriculture and housing, thus deforestation is on-going and affected the weather. We often hear visitors complained that the temperature up in the highlands is like down the lowlands. Fortunately, Connie was wise to bring along some sweaters in case the weather is cold, otherwise, we might have to huddle for warmth at night.

While stopping at Bharat Tea Shop near Tanah Rata for tea and scone, I looked over the mountain range where the tea plants met the forest. It reminded me of my adventurous younger days. In 1961, I was only 15 then, I joined the scout troop of SYS Batu Gajah for a hike to Cameron Highlands via Gopeng. We engaged two orang asli guides to lead us going through jungle trails and wading along streams in thick jungle infested with leeches. The weather was not kind to us. It was raining non-stop so slowing down our trekking. We were behind schedule and forced to put up a night in a shaky bamboo hut abandoned by a family. We were also short of food supply. Whatever the orang asli could sell to us we just bought to cook. The next morning we continued our trekking for a few more hours and finally emerged from the jungle and saw Bharat tea plantation. What a relief and joy to have reached our destination !