Starting early

Waking up at 8:30am is a big achievement for me seeing that I only go to bed at about 3am on most days.

I’ve already spent the last two hours in front of the computer, sorting out photographs for my photo business KerissaPhotos. The site is being updated at the moment so I will “re-introduce” the link in another post once it’s done.

This is just a short, short post as I’m feeling a little hungry as I only had a small dinner last night.

What’s for breakfast today? Just a few slices of freshly baked bread spread with lots of butter and a slice of cheese.

If anyone thinks that’s not healthy, too bad. I weigh less than I should so I can afford to indulge now and then.

And yes, I will toast my hot Nescafe with milk to all you out there also enjoying a simple breakfast like me.

Ciao

Quote for Day 8

 

Tango Face Kiss by Warszawianka

http://www.openclipart.org/

The early morning air is free. Take big gulps of it if you can't breathe - Anon

Organic brunch

A serving of Hawaiian Pizza, Californian Handrolls and Popia Salad Rolls arrived at the table exactly 10 minutes after my friend and I sat for lunch at Organic Recipe today.

That was brilliant service seeing that the restaurant was already half filled when we arrived. Having efficient wait staff is a big boost to the business especially when they understand what makes good service.

The Popia Salad Rolls which we couldn't finish and were packed home as well.

This elderly waiter came quickly to our table, took our orders and sent them to the kitchen while waiting for us to decide what else to add to the selection.

“Pizzas take some time to be ready so I will send the order in first while you decide the rest of your dishes,” he said and off he went.

I ordered hot Nescafe but the only coffee drink they have is the Caramel Hazelnut Coffee, which the male waiter recommended to me. Although hesitant of the choice because I do not like caramel, I gave it a try as my first meal of the day MUST come with a coffee drink.

I specifically asked for the coffee to arrive after my pizza is on the table because I don’t like my coffee cold by the time my food arrives. Yes, I am that fussy with my coffee.

However, the girl in-charge of drinks must have forgotten and brought my coffee before my pizza arrived. The male waiter wasn’t very happy with that as he had specifically told the girl my request. I let it go as I wanted to watch what happens to my coffee.

 

I almost forgot to take shots of the Hawaiian Pizza. Such a pig, am I not?

Several minutes later the pizza arrived and as I had expected (as I’ve been keeping a close watch on the temperature of my coffee drink … haha), my coffee drink was still hot! I was very happy with that and enjoyed slice after slice of the pizza in between sips of my Caramel Hazelnut Coffee.

CONCLUSION:

1. The coffee drink was still hot because (most importantly) the hot water used to make the drink was kept at the right temperature. This is very important when making hot drinks because by the time the milk is added and the coffee is sent to the customer the coffee would quickly turn cold IF the water used was not boiling hot. So bravo for that.
2. The pizza arrived within the estimated time.
3. Surprisingly the coffee drink was lovely because the taste of Caramel did not empower the flavours of the hazelnut.
4. Result – a very happy customer and a brilliant brunch!

These Californian Handrolls is fresh and what? DELICIOUS!!!

The meal cost RM50 and indoor parking is free. Just pay a deposit of RM5 at the machine when you enter the building and then give the parking ticket to the restaurant cashier who will then reimburse your money.

If you are looking for a change in your lunch venues we would suggest:

ORGANIC RECIPE
B3-09-11 Casa Utama
Lorong Lebuh Bandar UtamaPJU 6A
PETALING JAYA
T: +6 03 7729 0236

On top of the three dishes I mentioned, I also tapau (takeaway) one Special Fried Rice and as for drinks, there were two additional drinks – Lemon Honey and Fresh Coconut. However, we were enjoying the brunch so much that by the time we dug into the food we forgot about the rest of the photography. So we don’t have any shots of the rest of the items.

Quote for Day 7

http://www.openclipart.org/

The frustration of being sick makes even the smallest effort looks great! - Anon

Good company a must in life

SIX hours after a heavy Japanese dinner last night I tried to post about my great evening with friends but my eyes gave in to the comfort of the bed.

Japanese dinner at Asia Cafe.

All I managed was uploading my photos from the camera and sorting them out in the library. As I trudged to bed, I kept hearing Saria’s voice telling me: “Babe, shoot for Facebook babe, shoot for Facebook.”

At that moment everything can just ‘hang’ for me! Sleep sounded a better option. Apologies Sar…

I’m up and about now so I’ll just quickly do the intended post before I head to the grocer to get freshly baked bread for my late (again) breakfast.

Me and my improvised chopstick.

This photo above is of me with an improvised chopstick. The Chef quickly made me one when he saw me frantically trying to dish the yee sang into my mouth using a plastic spoon. I can't use chopsticks so don't laugh! I've tried again and again to learn how but I just don't know how to. By the way, this is the second Chef to make me an improvised chopstick. The first was a Japanese chef in Shangri-La KL when I was at the hotel's Japanese restaurant.

There were supposed to be eight of us for dinner but the figure dwindled to only four. I don’t know what the other three’s excuses were but one said she forgot. FORGOT dinner? That person must be as thin as a stick!

It was CS who invited me for the dinner and I was surprised that a Japanese meal can make me feel so stuffed. I’m not a big fan of Japanese food especially when I read an article about this guy who had to go for surgery after getting severe headaches after eating tons of sushi or something. Then his doctor found some live “creatures” swimming in his brains. Anyway, I don’t know if that was just a stupid joke but it frightened me.

 

That's CS doing the "My mouth is bigger than yours" act.

My favourite Japanese food (if I can call it that) is the Handroll (wrapped in seaweed). That’s all I like but last night we had Yee Sang (that’s Chinese???), a fish skin dish, sushi and several other delicious, delicious Japanese dishes. I won’t go into the details because one of them is actually doing a food review so I won’t steal his lightning ;). I will see if I can run his review here anytime soon.

 

FT - Angel of a poser

Besides enjoying the food created by that great chef Nicholas Heng (he used to work in some of the big hotels and trained with some seriously skilled Japanese chefs) I was also basking in my friends’ company. If I am not mistaken in this photo below Sar (left) was trying to shake our friends' with her "I will beat you up" look.

Errr...what's going on guys?

There we were sitting at the round table at Asia Café surrounded by all the madness and chaos of a food court and I was thinking this is such  different experience altogether. Who would think that right here in a food court we can actually enjoy first class, top notch Japanese meals from a world class chef? That’s simply brilliant, right?

That's Sar busy with her laptop and trying to spell the word 'N-Y-O-N-Y-A'.

While we waited for food to be served, I went around shooting the chef at work and the food served. Sar on the other hand had her head buried in her laptop. “I want to have fun with my friends but I also need to work so this is always the way I am,” she said. "Work" for Sar was actually learning to spell the word 'Nyonya' from FT and me.

"So how do I spell that?" Sar asked.

FT and me went: "N-Y-O-N-Y-A"

Sar said: "N..." Then looked at us blank and repeated, "N...?"

"N-Y-O-N-Y-A"

Don't worry, she did get it after two repeats fom FT and me. Phew!

It’s not an issue with any of us that she was finishing off a story for a deadline at the same time enjoying our company. When you’re the media, you just understand this is our lifestyle.

The one on the right is of course the Sake Drinking Champ!

And what were the other two doing? One was busy enjoying sake and the other shaking his head in disbelief at how much this friend can down in one seating. Way to go people!!!

So here are some of the photos I took on the night. I guess the rest will have to go into FB later today as my tummy is rumbling for breakfast!

Make Your Own Scones

TOQUE-OCAL

http://www.openclipart.org/ 

Do you love scones but can’t find good ones around town? So why not bake your own instead?

The French Culinary School @ HTC in Asia will kick off its first cooking classes starting Jan 22 with lessons on baking sweet and savoury scones.

Chef Jean Michel will be conducting the class. Participants will learn Savoury Scone recipes like Cheddar and Chive Scones, Feta, Olive and Sundried Tomato Scones as well as sweet scones like the Pumpkin, Orange and Apple scones.

The one-day workshop starts at 10am and ends at 1pm. To get details on joining fees, kindly call the school at +6 03 2078 7969 / e-mail at workshop@htcinasia.com

Besides this baking session, there are also Leisure Cooking Classes that’s just perfect for those aspiring to become a Chef.

Quote for Day 6

 

Betty Boop by OCAL

http://www.openclipart.org/

Today is all about +ve thinking. If I don't I will be swallowed into the world of darkness - Anon

Comedy with the Queens

“Three Comedy Queens

Two Great Nights

And

A Show to

Blow You All Away”

Guess who’s back in the comedy scene after the hard partying over Christmas and New Year? Joanne of course! Joanne who? Kam Poh Poh la, which Joanne some more?

Her e-mail received last night read:

Dearest Friends

Its time to start the year with a whole lotta laughs...my style :) presenting the real comedy QUEENS of KL ( well only one of us is a real woman and no its not BiBi ) but rest assured it will be an unforgettable evening of fun. So come join me, Jit Murad & Bibi K Poh at No Black Tie on 18th & 19th January.

Its a very small venue so please book your tables in advance or you may have to literally hang off the balcony.

Details of the show and booking information are below.

Do forward it to any other friends that may be interested if you are otherwise engaged, on a different planet or running away from the ISA

Cheers,
Joanne Kam

 Joanne in action - always crazy, always sexy and most definitely hilariously cheeky.

Well, I’m not guilty of all three excuses so I should be there unless the sky is in tears again.

No Black Tie will rock with mad laughter when three of Malaysia’s “most vocal and hilarious comedians” cause havoc onstage with their “unbridled humour, bitchiness” and a whole lotta attitude!

This is a one-night event only so please don’t come begging later on for a replay when you were the one who played a square! Oh ok, if the money is good maybe the three Comedy Queens, Joanne Kam Poh Poh, Jit Murad and Bi Bi Kay Poh might think it over. Who knows but if you’ve not booked a flight to Mars, get that fat arse of yours behind the wheels and mark your territory at your booked table.

Ever tried damn hard in the past to make your mother blush? No? Well, here’s your chance. Drag her along because Llew Marsh and the Queens promise a night of … ok, cancel that idea. Leave your mother alone. Just come with friends. I said friends ok. Not children. This is not a show for “kids”, that the stars guarantee you.

Laugh the night away at:

NO BLACK TIE
No. 17 Jalan Mesui
Off Jalan Nagasari
50200 KUALA LUMPUR

Date: Jan 18 & 19 (Tues-Wed)
Time: 9pm till late
Res: +603 2142 3737 (CALL after 5pm) / +6 012 2030 776 (SMS)

Website: www.noblacktie.com.my

Quote for Day 5

Owl On Tree Branch by OCAL

http://www.openclipart.org/

I'm a night owl, not a morning person, so this is the time I think, plan, and conquer the world - CS

Beautiful blooms in my garden

Finally! After four days I finished sorting out my garden. I’m confident my plants are much happier with their home today.

 

Do they call this the peacock flower or something? Very pretty plant with lots of flowers.

 

There was a bit of sun earlier in the day so I managed to get some shots of the blooms. All the plants featured here are the new ones I just bought on New Year’s Day. Since I selected the more matured plants I am hoping none of them will give me any trauma by wilting and then dying on me over the next few days.

One of my frequent visitors in the garden is this yellow birdie.

I still have one obstacle to overcome – remembering the names of my plants because for the life of me I can’t remember the scientific name the nurseries labelled each and every one of them with.

 

Simply stunning blooms from this 5ft tall plant.

The purplish blue bloom I think belongs to the Morning Glory family and the yellow ones are of course the Japanese Rose of the yellow variety. The purplish white blooms – now I don’t know what they are called or from which plant family they belong. When I bought it the boy at the nursery told me: “Saya tak tahu ini apa pokok.” (“I don’t know from which plant family this is.”). “Tapi banyak lawa ini.” (“But they are real pretty.”), he added.

 

The Japanese Rose of the yellow variety. Lights up my life at any time of the day.

It is a big plant really; more than 5ft tall and it is like a vine. When I re-pot it I had to put a bamboo slat to support the branches. The next morning I found the plant in full bloom and it was such a pretty sight. This plant is rather hardy so I think it will be fairly easy to baby.

 

I have two of this yellow Morning Glory, which I placed by the window on my lanai. This is the 2nd plant I bought.

I

This is the "buttercup" like plant I mentioned in my earlier post. I've added this baby plant into the "mother" plant's pot so they can bond ... ha ha

That’s it for now. If you have photos of your garden and the plants in it, do share here with me and my friends. It would be great to know what other plant species I should look out for to add to my already cramped garden. 

 Last but not least - my purplish blusih Morning Glory. It's already flowering daily. Cool ...

Quote for Day 4

Buster by NOID

http://www.openclipart.org/

When the mind is weary pain seeps in - Anon

Gardening therapy

What would you love to do when someone annoys you first thing on New Year’s Day? Smack them on the head? I was very tempted but I have promised myself 2011 is my year and it will be filled with positive vibes ONLY! So, what did I do instead of replying the sms with an equally annoying text? I went for “retail” therapy. I bought PLANTS!

I ignored the sms, picked up my car keys and zoomed my way to the nearby nurseries. The planned 1-hour trip became a four-hour therapy session instead and did I have fun!

These are my precious trees that provide shade in my backyard.

First off, most of the nurseries were quiet, it being the first day of the New Year and people are mostly still in bed suffering a hangover I guess. So I had all the attention from the foreign workers working at the nurseries who were mostly basking under the sun wearing their straw hats to give them shade.

Most of them know me as I am a frequent customer at all the stalls but it got a little scary when one of the workers kept grinning at me with an almost sadistic smile. That particular nursery lost a customer that day.

I decided to buy a matured Pandanus plant that costs me RM10 as all my previous attempts to grow one failed miserably.

By the end of the 4-hour marathon I lugged home some earthenware pots, bags of burned soil for potting my plants, some pot legs, hangers and at least six different varieties of plants.

It’s been back-breaking work the last two days, re-potting some of my plants, re-arranging the pots in the backyard and front yard and checking the plants – pruning, feeding them fertilisers and cutting off excess roots.

A very messy lanai and coffee table once I start working on the garden, which is to the right.

But the most embarrassing thing about gardening in a condo unit is when hell breaks lose every time I come across a garden slug. I tell you darling, my screams are so piercing that they can reach the 18^th floor of my tower block, travel across to the three other facing blocks and can easily cause fatality to anyone with a weak heart!

In fact, I don’t even need salt to kill these slugs. My screams do the job just fine.

The other “bad” thing about gardening in a condo unit is that your neighbours (the ones above you especially) hear everything you say to yourself in the garden. I was trying hard to get one of my overgrown ferns out of its present pot so I can move her (yes, I know if my plants is a him or her) to a bigger “house”.

The smaller plants are easier to re-pot as they don't take too much energy.

But her roots were massive and not wanting to damage them I had to go real slow. It was a killer. So I was groaning so loud on top of my iPod (listening to music, of course) like “URGHHHH…come on baby, come out, pleassseee…”. Then there was the “GOD! You’re so huge!!!” line. And I guess by the time I got to the: “Please don’t kill me man. This is crazy. This is hard!” some of the foreign students living several floors above me must have been hyperventilating, not knowing it was just a mad gardener at work several floors below.

Fun aside, the past two days has been rather hot so I’ve been sweating like a pig under the sun in my garden. There’s a bit more to go but it’s raining at the moment. So I will get back to work once the rain subsides.

Meanwhile, take a look at some of these images. There’s one photo of me digging into an incredibly delicious red watermelon, another photo of me re-potting a smaller plant, a Jasmine, my backyard and a very messy lanai with the coffee table turned in to a workstation.

That's me with my reward at the end of a sweaty day gardening.

I will bring you more news on how the garden has progressed. Tomorrow we will be able to get some nice shots of some of the blooms.

Till then, if you love gardening, share your stories with me and my friends here. But please don’t say slugs make a good meal. URGHHHH!!!

Quote for Day 3

No Thinking by OCAL

http://www.openclipart.org/

Laughter comes afterwards when u think everything is funny - CS

Quote for Day 2

Devil Dance by OCAL

http://www.openclipart.org/

There are two sides to everyone: 1) the angel who can do no wrong. 2) the devil waiting to be unleashed. DO NOT unleash the devil in me - Anon