Knits and nibbles

Knit FO: The Mistaken Pumpkin

2010-10-29T00:14:00.004+08:00

Really sorry I've been away for so long. Lot's of things have happened, but to keep things short: I resigned from my old job 2 months ago, went away to Europe for 3 weeks and start my new job on Monday!

And so, I return to this forgotten blog with a completed FO! I present The Mistaken Pumpkin.

Inspired by our first trip to Scotland (and by the fact that we were going to be there in autumn), I decided to make use of the Pumpkin Latte yarn I purchased from the Plucky Knitter in 2008 and found an extremely easy to understand and really pretty pattern: The Mistaken Shawl.

Completed in early August, I washed and blocked it immediately and eagerly waited to take pictures of it "on location". The perfect opportunity presented itself when we visited Roslyn Chapel, just half an hour away from Edinburgh city centre. The weather was sunny for long enough for us to take these pictures, before it started raining again.

I used 2 skeins of Pumpkin Latte and 4.5mm needles.

I'm still here

2010-07-28T18:06:00.002+08:00

Yes it's been over a month since my last post. It's not that I haven't been going to places to eat, nor does it mean that I haven't been knitting/crocheting... I just haven't had the appropriate time to blog about them! Internet's been a bit iffy at home and I try not to blog too much in the office!

On the knitting front, I am currently knitting the Mistaken Pumpkin - with the Mistaken shawl pattern by Kourtney Robinson and two skeins of Pumpkin Latte superwash merino wool in fingering weight by The Plucky Knitter. Quite a bit of modifications to the pattern, which calls for 12mm needles vs the 4.5mm that I am using. Had to double the number of repeats on the main pattern and I am now on the edging, while I will most likely double as well, depending on how much yarn I have left.

I have been busy crocheting bags with the intention of selling them in church some time in future. I initially targeted the SFX Family Day in mid July but because I didnt have time to make as many as I wanted, I've decided to sell it some other time - maybe Christmas. No specific pattern was followed, mostly I came up with them myself.

Recently completed FOs also include my Black Purl top, a crocheted top from one of my Japanese pattern books and Lorna Laces Swirl DK in Black Purl. Really love it - finished it in about a week - so enthusiastic I was about it!

Food-wise, I need to start uploading all my photos!! Eep....

Adeline's 16th Birthday

2010-06-23T23:14:00.002+08:00

We celebrated cousin Adeline's 16th birthday this weekend (see previous post about the cooking lesson that was part of the party). Cousin Melissa came up with the birthday cake design and got it made by a friend's mom.

Family pic!
(L-R) Uncle Thomas, Andrew, Kelvin, Adeline and Auntie Poh Har.

Nicholas was all hyper that night... I'm not sure what he was trying to do here but it was funny!

Oh, and one of the decorative sugar pieces almost got burnt. That was how we blew out the candles - frantic puffing to put out the fire! Luckily no major damages...

Happy Sweet 16, Adeline!

Cooking lesson with Master Chef Tan

2010-06-23T22:47:00.002+08:00

As part of cousin Adeline's 16th birthday celebrations, a cooking lesson with our master chef in the family, Uncle Tan was arranged. I believe all should realise now that this family's lives all revolve around food!

Uncle Tan makes one of the best mein fun kuey or pan mee. Essentially homemade wheat flour noodles in a rich anchovy broth. Instead of using the pasta maker to make noodles as is more commonly done in the shops, one tears thin strips of the dough by hand and drops them into the broth. Essential condiments are the deep fried anchovies, potato leaves and crispy fried onions. Optional condiments are fishballs, meatballs, pre-cooked boneless chicken pieces, clams, prawns etc.

Instructions for making the dough:
Put 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp of olive oil, 2 cups of water, 2 tbsp of cornflour and a packet of wheatflour into a deep dish.

Handknead until smooth and all the floury paste no longer sticks to your palms, adding water gradually. This is the tricky part because there is no exact measurement - it's all by the feel of the dough.
The broth is made with dried anchovies and chicken bones. The optional condiments listed above may be added before the dough is added to make the broth sweeter. The dough is torn and stretched as thin as possible. Too thick and it's not nice. Next add the potato leaves.

Once the broth boils up again and cooked for a few minutes, it's done.

To serve, fill up a bowl with a mixture of everything in the pot and add the fried anchovies and the deep fried onions. Another important item is the sambal belachan, a spicy chilli and fermented prawn paste combo that completes this dish. I will need to learn that recipe from my Auntie Mag next time.
Of course, since we are greedy, we also had other dishes along with the pan mee. From the front, chicken curry (with no coconut milk because some in the family can no longer have such luxuries in their diet), yong tau fu and beef rendang.

YUM!

Knit FO: Pumpkin stole

2010-06-23T22:09:00.002+08:00

Here's one project I forgot to post about... I completed the Pumpkin stole in early February and gave it to Auntie Sze Peng as a birthday gift soon after.

I somehow forgot to record what yarn I used and I cannot recall which one this is except it was bought on sale from Spotlight and is very soft! I improvised the pattern from a poncho pattern in one of my Japanese magazines and converted into a stole instead.

Apologies for the lack of details here!

WWKIP 2010 - 12th-20th June

2010-06-08T15:45:00.004+08:00

This year's World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIP Day) is held from 12th to 20th June. Knitters all over the world group together to knit in public! (It can't get any more straightforward than that!)

Here are the details for the KL WWKIP event:

Venue: Starbucks, Bangsar Village 2

Time: 2.30pm onwards

Activities:

-Bring your current knitting project to Knit in Public.

-Bring or wear one FO for show and tell.

-Brown Bag Exchange - Put two balls of yarn and some goodies in a paper bag (preferably something not plastic since Saturday is no plastic day) for an exchange. Min value RM 30.00.

For more details, pls refer to our Ravelry thread. See you there!

p/s: Yes, I used the Europe WWKIP logo because I prefer it to the Asia one which is black and white.

My first sets of pearls

2010-05-21T17:05:00.003+08:00

Yes, I said sets as in more than one!

My sister and her colleagues invited me to join them for a girly lunch at the Carat Club in Bangsar today to have a look at pearls. They had a trunk show collection of Japanese Akoya Pearls. Sit Yin had already purchased a very lovely pair yesterday (she collected them today and we all said they suited her very well) and got us all interested in a girly pearly lunch!

Our free lunch turned out to be an expensive affair. In fact, as I was typing the paragraph above, my bank has just called to ask if I had signed for something at the Carat Club. I sheepishly had to admit that I did.

Okay it's actually not too expensive for pearls, I tell myself. I reason with my conscience that these are my first sets of pearls. I cannot guarantee that it will be my last, though, since they are so lovely.

Description of my two sets:
Set 1. A string of light peach pearls that are "deformed" (I cant think of a nicer way to say this). But they are really unique given how the pearls were formed which, when put together, looks really cool and modern. It retails for RM439. I had 2 pearls removed to be made into earrings.

Set 2. A string of greyish pearls, rounder and less deformed compared to Set 1. It's really difficult to describe the colours as it looks very different in different lighting and skintones. It retails for RM649 and I had 3 pearls removed - 1 for a pendant and 2 for earrings.

My sister the brat bought 2 strings of pearls that cost RM1890 each. Admittedly, the difference in quality resulted in the difference in price. Her pearls were mostly similar in size, shape and colour compared to mine. She plans to wear both necklaces together but has the option of just wearing one if she wants.

So that was a productive lunchtime indeed! Although, I still think I prefer diamonds to pearls. Diamonds, after all, really are a girl's best friend!

P/S: Pictures only after we get the necklaces, which should hopefully be next week!

Andrea Bocelli in Singapore this weekend!

2010-05-06T18:41:00.002+08:00

I can't wait!

Rommel and I scrambled to register online for the Andrea Bocelli tickets that YTL was giving out. We didnt get it though...

Then I found out my mom had tickets but gave them to a client without knowing that we wanted to go. I was upset of course but couldn't blame her really since the client wanted it.

Our luck changed last week when I got a call from Tan Sri's office asking if I wanted tickets! I nearly screamed into the phone. I was jumping all over the office that day though, so happy I was.

So it's set. We booked the flights and hotel last week, collected the concert tickets yesterday and I have my yarn crawl through Singapore planned (not that many places lah - just Spotlight and Golden Dragon really because of lack of time).

We're going to be ambitious and also visit the casinos. And I want to go to Universal Studios as well. I love amusement parks and am a huge fan of Disneyland (where one can never really grow up) so since this is the nearest "quality" amusement park to us here in Malaysia, I have to visit. (which reminds me, I need to plan a visit to HK Disneyland soon, it's the only Disneyland that I haven't been to.)

Do you think that's too much to do in 2 days? I dont know. I know I'll be exhausted!

Piggin' Out: Imbi Market

2010-05-04T12:34:00.005+08:00

One fine Sunday morning, we were invited to breakfast at the busy Imbi Market by Uncle Lee. This is one of his breakfast haunts (although he has many food haunts) and he regularly packs the famous beef noodles for us.

Since my mom no longer eats beef (just because she doesn't want to), he ordered some other dishes.

Prawn mee

Mee jawa

Assam laksa

We found it really amusing that he ordered so much for her, considering the fact that my mom usually barely eats more than a quarter of a regular bowl of noodles. But anyway, we all got to try them!

Verdict: All three were good but somehow, cannot compare to what you'd get in Penang!

And now, the highlight of our trip: BEEF NOODLES!

The Imbi Market beef ball noodles were my mom's favourite when she was growing up in KL... so much so that she threw away her no-red-meat philosophy for a few seconds and ate some! (That's a very big deal because my mom has very strong willpower when it comes to food, unlike the rest of us!)

I like how this picture below came out. It looks like I stuck two pictures together! Anyway, beef balls on the left, brisket on the right.

The noodles were served separately, with the option of horfun, meehoon or mee.

I chose horfun, my favourite.

Shen took the mee, since she apparently abhors rice noodles for some reason.

The shopowner gladly posed for me.

After the feasting, I had great fun taking pictures of some of the other stalls. We also bought our weekly chicken, fish and vegetables at the market. A bit pricier than the Old Klang Road market but much cheaper than The Village Grocer, of course!

I was so excited about seeing this apam stall and planned to come back after taking all the pictures to buy some for myself. When I got back to the stall, they had just sold the last piece! I guess that means I have to go back again for more nom!

I'm not that big a fan of apam balik, on the other hand. But hey it looked really good!

Knit FO: Travelling Woman No.2 for Su Ling

2010-04-26T00:00:00.003+08:00

For my cousin Su Ling's birthday, I gave her my second Travelling Woman shawl. My first was given to Rommel's mother for Christmas last year - details here.

I love this pattern - so easy to follow and a pleasure to knit. Small enough to take along for holidays too!

Details:-

Ravelry link: here

Pattern: Travelling Woman by Liz Abinante

Yarn: Ancient Threads Sockittome - handdyed yarn I bought at iKnit last December.

Needles: 5mm circulars.

Piggin' Out: Monte's @ BSC - revisited

2010-04-02T13:36:00.004+08:00

Another lovely meal at Monte's, located in Bangsar Shopping Centre...

* read about my previous post on Monte's here*

Pumpkin soup: creamy and always consistent in taste

Warm buns with butter

Garlic toast: a classic...

Another classic: the escargot...

Deep fried oysters were good too...

I had the grilled snapper fillet with garlic butter sauce, something that as a kid, I used to order every time I came to Monte's. Still good!

Rommel stuck to his usual ribeye steak, good as always.

And my sister ordered another familiar dish - peppermint lamb.

We polished the night off sharing dessert:

Definitely one of our favourite restaurants in KL - for its good food, convenient location and value-for-money portions.

Spaghetti with Rocket, Chilli, Prawns and Clams

2010-03-27T11:43:00.001+08:00

Spaghetti with Rocket, Chilli, Prawns and Clams, originally uploaded by shira.C.

My sister's second attempt at cooking this dish at home - and it turned out successful! It was a simple Sunday night dinner, cooked with fresh ingredients bought that afternoon...

March 2010 birthdays

2010-03-24T13:48:00.004+08:00

The night after our Restoran Homey feast, we had a triple birthday celebration party at our home with the god-siblings.

We had many options on how to feed a whole bunch of adults - cooking (but who was going to do it? I was lazy and Shen was busy that day), buying from food court (but we always buy from the food court and I'm really bored of it), ordering from roomservice.com (but we couldn't decide what to order)......

So, after our Homey feast, we decided that it was probably the yummiest option. Plus, we didn't mind eating it two days in a row.

The tables were set....
.... and the candles were lit....

....the birthday song was sung...

Happy Birthday, Sandra, Kok Beng and Stella!

And finally, a model in the making - Isabelle...

Piggin' Out: Restoran Homey - revisited

2010-03-23T15:48:00.002+08:00

I've been happily playing with my new camera and new lens... Here's pictures from a recent meal at Restoran Homey, Kuchai. (for my previous posts and restaurant contact details, click here and here)

Indonesian mud crabs steamed with egg - perfect to start the meal with. My dad usually calls up before we leave the house to preorder this, and it arrives at our table just moments after we sit down. (We've timed it all to perfection by now, given the number of times we come here)

Next up is the mantis prawn stir-fried kung po style, served in a deep fried yam basket. Fantastic..

My mom always remembers to order the Hokkien-fried meehoon, amazingly stir-fried in loads of lard.

That day, we brought our own fish there... Deep fried to perfection, of course.

And to end the meal - the chilli crabs - same Indonesian mud crabs, cooked in a different style and served with deep fried mantou buns.

Definitely my family's favourite place to eat. My brother's booked it as his first meal when he comes home for Easter next week.

Knit FOs: Spring and Ellis Bags

2010-03-19T10:21:00.002+08:00

Finally, some knit FOs!

I've been on a bag crocheting spree lately - am planning to hopefully make enough to sell at this year's church annual bazaar. Here are two recently completed bags: Spring (on the left) and Ellis.

Spring just reminds me of... spring! I used milk yarn from Spotlight Singapore, a 4mm hook and pretty wooden handles from The Quilt Gallery at Bangsar Village. I've also made a little matching pink purse but no pics of that yet since I've just completed it.

Ellis is a simple tweed bag with acrylic handles, named after Mr Ellis, my economics teacher back in boarding school in the UK because he always wore tweed.

Both are loosely based on patterns from my various Japanese crochet books but I've modified them quite a bit to fit the handles and the limited amount of yarn I had of each type.

And.... here is my new toy at home! Say hello to Mac! (And hi to my little project storage table which I bring around the house to keep all my knit-related notions like scissors, stitch markers, tapestry needles etc.. On the top is the WIP Spring bag).

And in the reflection below, I'm using my other new toy - I've finally purchased a Nikon D90 - my upgrade from the D50 which I have given to my sister.

March has been a gadgets galore month... and we need to save money from now on. (Shhh... we also bought a PS3).

Piggin' Out: Penang CKT and Assam Laksa

2010-03-10T13:21:00.003+08:00

My report on my Penang trip is out, with this pic on the front page!

This is my favourite Assam Laksa in Penang - at the Air Itam market. I blogged about it in Aug08 and Apr09... after my foodie trips up to the food capital of Malaysia.

I then found out from my limo auntie (who always chauffeurs my mom around when she goes to Penang for meetings) that she thinks the best Assam Laksa in Penang is in fact the one on Penang road facing the police station. Later my uncle who lived in Penang for a couple of years in the early nineties, agreed and said the Penang road one is the best.

Penang is also famous for its Char Kuey Teow, perhaps none more famous than the Lorong Selamat one. I initially wanted to try the Ah Leng CKT which is somewhere near Padang Brown as it has mantis prawns and duck eggs (oooh premium CKT!) but when we got to the stall, it was CLOSED! Can you imagine my dismay?

*Note to self: Ah Leng CKT is closed on Thursdays

So luckily Lorong Selamat was not too far away and we headed there instead. So much hype, so much expectations... and sadly, the Lorong Selamat CKT fell short of expectations.

Don't get me wrong. It was good, but not as good as to warrant RM7 per plate. And it was much better than its nearby competitor - Sisters' CKT on Jln Macalister. Not sure if I'll ever go back to that stall again though.

And so, I guess this means another trip to Penang is necessary - need to try out the Penang road Assam Laksa and the Ah Leng CKT!

Pride and Prejudice - Tweets version

2010-03-05T11:09:00.003+08:00

It's been maddeningly busy at work these two weeks with me leaving the office at 10pm some nights, only to be back again at the usual 7am.

But, my sister and I managed to squeeze in time to watch the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. The movie is obviously an adaptation from Jane Austen's novel and so I set out to find out what the original story was like.

Conveniently, we have a copy of the book in our library. I vaguely remember if I have read P&P as a kid but the story line is most definitely familiar and since we have a copy of the book at home, I think I might have read it at some point. I'm babbling here. Basically, I read it over the weekend and have re-read some parts a couple of times for clarity.

Then, I joined the P&P fan club on Ravelry and someone mentioned this. It is absolutely hilarious!! Happy Reading!

P/s: I'll need to do a short post on Penang - Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow and Air Itam assam laksa! I was there for a day trip yesterday (5 meetings!) but managed to squeeze in time for CKT (we had only 10 mins to eat!) and assam laksa at the end of the day before heading back to the airport. Such desperation!

And: Rommel and I are going to the Babyface concert tonight at the KL Convention Centre!

Gong Hei Fatt Choy!

2010-02-23T23:26:00.003+08:00

... albeit a rather belated Chinese New Year wish!

This is my sister's first CNY celebration at home in five years... so I think my most frequent question to her all of last week was... "So does this feel like Chinese New Year yet?"

CNY is a special celebration time for Chinese families worldwide.

There's the must-have reunion dinners... This is actually taken on the second day of CNY when we went back to my aunt's home in Rawang one more time for another round of "feasting'. In accordance with tradition, we went back to my dad's hometown on the eve of CNY for the actual reunion dinner.

My aunt's cooking is something I really look forward to every CNY. We had my favourite chun kuen (similar to spring rolls but its meat rolled up in thin pork fat sheets and deep fried), another favourite qu tou tong (pig's stomach soup with pepper), siew yoke (roast pork) and steamed chicken.

There's the rounds of full course Chinese dinners (and lunches).

Here are my cousins Samantha, Vanessa and Melissa tossing the "lou sang" at our family reunion lunch (for my mom's side of the family). We ate at Ming Room, Bangsar Shopping Centre.

We also had one round with my dad's side of the family on the third night of CNY. Here's my dad, his youngest sister (I call her Mui Gu), her son, her husband and my dad's second sister (Chui Gu). We had a great feast in Gu Yue Tien, Chulan Square.

This picture is for my friend Suen who sadly couldn't make it for my CNY party this year. She loves this jelly cake, ordered from this lady we've affectionately called "The Jelly Auntie" who lives nearby. Suen can eat a whole cake by herself!

The second night of CNY happened to be Rommel's birthday so we took a break from all the Chinese dinners and celebrated at Sage. They took the liberty to specially prepare the truffle pasta for us although it wasn't in the menu. This was so good, we wanted to go back for lunch the next day to have it again.

More pictures are here.

Piggin' Out: Cilantro

2010-02-10T22:31:00.009+08:00

I was supposed to blog about this ages ago. Once I found out Cilantro had reopened, I checked with the family for the next available dinner slot and booked a table straightaway. I got so excited, I blogged about it on the day we went to eat there in late December.

The main question most people would have in their minds would be - how different is Cilantro to Sage? At least that was on my mind when I got there.

First up = the truffle butter.

I can sing songs and write poems about this truffle butter. I read so much about it before, having never tried Cilantro before it closed for the renovations. It was a really glorifying experience to finally have tasted it.

We also got to taste the nori butter, a specialty that isn't made and therefore isn't served that often. Good, very good infact, but still couldn't beat the truffle butter. We were shy about asking for more truffle butter. In our next 2 trips to Cilantro, we literally gobbled it all up.

One point I would like to make though is that the bread at Sage is much much better than the one in Cilantro. We had Cilantro and Sage within the space of a few days so the memory was still very fresh in our minds. Maybe Cilantro should pinch over the person making the bread at Sage, just to complete the experience.

Starters (from bottom right, clockwise - that was the order we were told to eat it): Raw tuna with truffle shavings, uni or sea urchin pasta (absolutely heavenly), prawn with avruga caviar, raw oyster and umeshu.

Next was pan seared foie gras with braised quail. Yum... How can one say no to foie gras?

This was probably the highlight (apart from the truffle butter, of course) - lobster consomme. Really really good.
For the mains, my dad and I chose the grilled Japanese beef while Rommel and Patteh chose the lobster.

For dessert, passion fruit creme brulee with mango sorbet. I like...

That first meal there was really good, I must say. However, my third visit to Cilantro proved to be a slight disappointment because I didn't quite remember the food itself. Although, that could have been because I was with a whole bunch of girls and we talked non stop throughout the entire meal and so I didn't spend as much time savouring every bite.

In any case, I will definitely be going back there...

Knit FO: Misti scarf

2010-02-05T00:12:00.002+08:00

I thought for a very long time about what to do with these 2 skeins of Misti Alpaca that I purchase from Loop London more than 2 years ago. After all, they were the most expensive yarn I had purchased (at that point in time) so I didnt want to "just make something" out of them.

As it turns out, the simpler, the better. I ended up knitting the most basic 2-colour garter stitch scarf for our London trip.

Lovely.

Details:
Ravelry link: here
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky Solids
Needles: 6mm straights

Knit FO: Auntie Annie's shawl

2010-02-05T00:06:00.002+08:00

Made for my Auntie Annie for her birthday last October... I'd actually completed it, got it washed, took pictures and all before giving it to her but I've just realised I forgot to post pictures of it here!

Details:
Ravelry link: here
Pattern: Japanese mag ISBN978-4-277-17230-1, Shawl No.5
Yarn: 4 skeins of Winter Soft in rose pink, purchased from Jet Sun at Sg Wang.
Crochet hook: uh-oh I can't remember now.

Knit FO: Japanese Hippie Bag

2010-02-04T23:53:00.003+08:00

A super easy Granny square bag with plastic handles. This was meant to be a birthday present for my aunt but after I made it, my mom decided that it might not be something she'd use. So we kept it for ourselves!

Details:
Ravelry link: here
Pattern: Sorry no links to it. It's from one of my Japanese magazines.
Yarn: Patons Jet, purchased from Spotlight Singapore
Crochet hook: Japanese size 7

Knit FO: Travelling woman 1

2010-02-04T23:22:00.007+08:00

This shawl really fits its name.

The yarn travelled from The Plucky Knitter in the US to my home in Malaysia. I then brought it to London where I cast on in London in December and completed it in Paris a week later. It has followed me home to Malaysia and has been given to Rommel's mom as a Christmas present.

The pattern was very simple to follow and I had fun knitting this! In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I made another one right after. That second one has been washed and blocked but not photographed yet!

Details:
Ravelry link: here
Pattern: Travelling Woman by Liz Abinante
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Merino Seacell in Garland colourway
Needles: 5mm circulars

Knit FO: Cherry leaf shawl

2010-02-04T22:56:00.006+08:00

Finally the internet gods have allowed me to post some pictures! (It's been soooo slow of late that I've tried various times and the connection was just too slow.)

Anyway, here is my Cherry shawl, named after the pattern in the Victorian Lace Today - Shoulder shawl in cherry leaf pattern. As usual, I didn't knit the border as I thought it was nice enough as it is.

The pattern itself was pretty easy to memorise after a while and the yarn is super soft cashmere lace from the Plucky Knitter. I've worn it out to a friend's wedding (the picture below was taken that night after the wedding dinner), and I brought it along to London where it was very well used to keep out the cold winter winds!

Details:
Ravelry link: here
Pattern: Shoulder shawl in cherry leaf pattern by Jane Sowerby
Book: Victorian Lace Today
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Cashmere Handpainted Laceweight in Francie Stevens colourway.
Needles: 5mm circulars

Fabulous Sugar Doll Award!

2010-01-25T12:08:00.003+08:00

Thank you very much, my namesake, Petrina for this award! We found each other on Ravelry and realised we have so much in common (including the fact that she used to attend the same church in KL). It's been fun reading your shopping exploits (I know I have my fair share of stories to tell too and I should!) and your knit FOs!

8 things about me. Hmmm...
1) I'm very organised and make to-do lists for everything. I mean everything! Just ask those close to me. Must be the Virgo qualities in me.

2) With my impeccable organisational skills, I'm the family de-facto tour coordinator. I plan all our trips and print copies of our travel schedule for everyone with way too much detail.

3) I cry very easily. My good friends from my uni days can attest to this. I cry at sappy movies, when I lose things, when I get upset with someone. They once tried to "train" me to cry at will. I succeeded.

4) I love good food. Duh!

5) I wish I could work for a knitwear company/designer.

6) My other wish is to have my own knit cafe filled with yummy cakes, cushy sofas and loads of yarn.

7) I love holidays (which is also why I'm the defacto tour leader).

8) My fear of water was the reason why I took up scuba-diving, I tried to get rid of that fear. Then I realised it was the fear of the unknown that I had - I dont like not knowing what's lurking beneath me. That explains why I refuse to do night dives.

I've decided not to nominate anyone... Not because I dont have people in mind. I need to get back to work!

Elton John's Out the Closet 2009

2009-12-31T10:06:00.003+08:00

On our last day in London, Rommel and I stumbled upon Elton John's Out of Closet 2009 sale while taking a walk around Covent Garden. I'd seen it in the news that Elton was donating part of his wardrobe to raise funds for his Aids Foundation so we thought we'd check it out.

In less than half an hour, we walked out of there with 4 pairs of posh men's shoes for Rommel (a Bottega, a Dior, a Gucci and a Louis Vuitton) and 5 cashmere scarves for me (Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto).... All for 650 quid. What a bargain... And all for charity too!

After a very good lunch at Kulu Kulu Sushi with the family, we brought my brother and dad back there again for them to have look. The boys came out with another 9 pairs of shoes (ranging from Bottega, Louis Vuitton and others I cannot recall now) - 2 for Rommel, 3 for my brother and 4 for my dad. My dad also bought 2 Versace belts, 1 Gucci jeans (which fit him extremely well, I must add) and 1 Diesel jeans.

So much for the boys not shopping that much!

While they were paying, I was quietly stalking a really nice worn-out brown leather bag. A couple was holding on to it and couldn't seem to decide whether to get it or not. When I finally gave up and started walking out, I saw from the corner of my eye that they'd put the bag back on the rack and I practically jumped over and grabbed it. I had no idea what brand was John Varvatos (which I later found out to be a designer specialising in menswear, figures), I didn't even check the bag properly, and I just grabbed it and headed to the cashier. The bag was pretty much brand new and cost me 195 quid, vs the original price (the tag was still in the bag) of US$995. I love it!

As we walked out, we were stopped by some journalists from the Daily Mail, asking questions about what we bought and what we thought about the sale etc. Here is the article following that "interview".

I wont post the whole thing but here is the snippet on us:

"Shoes were the biggest sellers. The Chong family, on holiday from Malaysia, went crazy for Elton's distinctly unshocking black and brown leather loafer collection, rather than his Versace black bovver boots with diamond encrusted toes.

Between them, they bought 13 pairs of sensible Bottega Veneta shoes for £99 each and armfuls of cashmere scarves by Yohji Yamamoto for £50 a throw.

'Your Song is one of my favourite records,' said John Chong, 55, an owner of a chemical business. 'But that's not why I bought all this - they're just great bargains.' "

Looks like it's not only my mother who knows how to shop.

Knit FO: Isabelle's dress

2009-12-30T10:02:00.003+08:00

Say "Hi!" to the super-cute, super-chatty Isabelle!

She is wearing the dress/top I made for her second birthday in September. This is my first attempt at kidswear and I only had 3 days to complete it (her birthday party was a week earlier than I thought so I had to rush). I was rather nervous about giving it to her, you know, worried that it wouldn't fit, worried that it would be uncomfortable etc... I met up with her and her parents Tim and Jo last night and they said that it fit her well. I hadn't seen this picture Jo posted on Facebook so decided to check it out.

Pattern: None really. I just followed the instructions from the aunties at Jet Sun Sg Wang where I bought the yarn from.

Here goes:
CO 130 stitches on circular needles and join.
Knit in stockingnette stitch until desired length for the skirt portion.
Decrease until it's half the number of stitches (i.e. K2tog one round).
*K1, P1* repeat for about 3-4 inches and bind off. (You can also do a K2, P2 rib.)

This forms the basic tube dress. I then crocheted simple straps onto the dress which can be tied and adjusted so that as she grows up, Mommy can adjust the lengths and make it a top. Judging from the picture, I'll say the dress grew too short very quickly since Isabelle is tall for her age. Or it was just my own bad estimation for children's clothes.

Yarn: Katia Bombay, 2 skeins in Pink (Lot No. 2004) - lovely colours in cool cotton, perfect for our tropical weather!

Needles: 4mm/60cm circulars.

Confession - I bought 2 more skeins of Katia Bombay to make another baby dress but have not been motivated to finish it. I'm now thinking of ripping it all out and starting something different. We'll see!

Cilantro tonight!

2009-12-28T18:30:00.003+08:00

I have been anticipating the reopening of Cilantro since its closure for renovations over a year ago. I have heard so much about it since coming home from London and starting work in KL but never got round to trying it. Then when I finally decided to give it a try, it closed for the MiCasa renovations. :(

I have since tried Sage, Cilantro's sister restaurant in The Gardens (blogged about it once here) and have enjoyed many great meals there (which I took many pictures of but never got round to blogging about them - New Year resolution - to actually post all the food pictures I keep taking!).

When I heard from Rommel that Cilantro had reopened, we knew at once we had to give it a try. Tonight was one of the few spare nights we have left (before my brother flies off back to London next week) and I managed to get us a table. Yippee...... Good nom tonight!

And just for comparison, I'll be having dinner at Sage at the end of the week. ;) Good thing losing weight isn't on my New Year resolutions list.

Have a Blessed and Joyful Christmas!

2009-12-24T08:08:00.003+08:00

Wishing everyone a Blessed and Joyful Christmas!

Here are some pics from London.... (while we are still sorting the rest out)

My sister's graduation was held in Southwark Cathedral - which sounded awfully familiar to both of us and we didn't realise why until we got there. It's the church right next to Borough market! We knew it was in that area but hadn't realise that it was that same church we've been staring at all this while.

After the photo taking sessions, my parents and sister headed into the cathedral for the ceremony while Rommel and I headed towards iKnit (which btw I now realise I didn't take pictures in because I was busy playing with yarn).

Of course, we had to stop by and peek into Borough market, which was expectedly quiet on a Wednesday afternoon. My usual fishmonger was open though and I found it funny that they were selling curries from my part of the world.. I ended up getting their Furness fish soup which was good. And the Thai green curry looked good I must say.

This is me waiting patiently outside my favourite sandwich shop, Farmer Brown in Covent Garden. I used to live less than one minute walk from this shop during my uni days (so I ate there almost all the time!). This time around, we stayed at the Citadines Trafalgar Square (I got a good bargain for a 6 person apartment) which is about a 10 minute walk from Farmer Brown on New Row. Needless to say, I made everyone have this for breakfast at least 3 times (we were in London for a total of 6 days). When they were lazy to walk out in the cold winter morning, Rommel and I walked out and packed the sandwiches for them. Great, now I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

And finally, I am grinning from ear to ear at the discovery of this market stall somewhere in Bath selling haberdashery. We were walking around going from one Christmas market to another when I stumbled across this place. I didn't buy any yarn though, having just splurged in iKnit a few days earlier. And, the yarns were mostly Sirdar and other brands which I knew I could get in Spotlight Singapore so why waste luggage space?

That's it for now.... Happy Holidays!

Bonjour from Paris

2009-12-13T02:15:00.003+08:00

It's our third and final night in Paris before heading back to London. It's been pretty good so far... We've done the must-do touristy stuff (Tour Eiffel and Musee du Lourve done), had probably our best meal on this entire trip in a quaint French restaurant near our hotel (we're staying in the St Germain des Pres area) and also shopped quite a bit!

We arrived at Tour Eiffel around sunset but didn't quite manage to walk up in time to take sunset pictures. Patteh, Rommel and I walked up to the second level too and it was freezing! Good to know I seem to have lost my fear of heights this time around. The last time I walked up Tour Eiffel 4 years ago, I was scared to walk to the Level 2!

Here I am with my brother after we reached Level 2.

Sadly, we were not able to walk the entire Lourve (which I guesstimate to take about 3 days at least). But we walked through my favourite part - the paintings.
We met Monalisa, who has moved to a much better location from where I remember her to be. We also went to see Aphrodite (sorry picture is in my sister's camera).

That's it for now.... Now we have to decide where to go for dinner. We wanted to go back to that quaint little restaurant I mentioned earlier but it's fully-booked today (it is Saturday after all). I tried booking Ze Kitchen Galerie literally the moment we arrived but they were not as friendly and told us they were full for both lunch and dinner until next week. Let's hope we find something good!

And... we're back in London!

2009-12-08T01:48:00.002+08:00

First: I stocked up on my yarn stash at iKnit!!! Had great fun in there playing with yarn noms while Rommel had some ginger beer and shandy to entertain himself. I also finally bought a swift and the KnitPicks interchangeable needles set.... Yippee! This was during sister's graduation ceremony since only my parents went in for it and Rommel and I had one and a half hours to spare.

After sister's graduation ceremony at Southwark Cathedral (which incidentally was RIGHT next to Borough market = perfect!), we headed for Shrewsbury to visit my brother. Or so was the plan...

We did see him yes, over dinner on the first night we arrived at our accommodation - Acton Pigot B&B which was 2 mins drive from Concord. The next day, we didn't see him at all! Cos we were too busy shopping at Cheshire Oaks up in Chester. I planned for this little "detour" to keep my mom occupied and shop she did. Ok ok, we all did!

We arrived back in Acton Pigot late in the night with our 9-seater VW filled with shopping bags. John, the owner of Acton Pigot, was amazed at the amount we bought.

Our next trip was to Bath which was supposed to be some all historic site visit but I also timed that to be at the same time as the annual Bath Christmas market (read: SHOPPING). I'm not sure now if that was a good thing because it was raining all of Saturday, the streets of Bath was so packed with shoppers and all restaurants and cafes were full of ppl. Madness!! We ended up heading back to the hotel early after sunset mass at the St John the Evangelist church and packed Thai food for dinner! The weather improved the next day so we had some time to shop in Bath.... *phew*..

Now back in London, spent the whole day at Westfield, the new shopping mall near Hammersmith since the weather was looking good at all for walking about outside. My brother is on his way down from his Cambridge interview (hope it went well, Fatteh!) so we're waiting for dinner....

That's it for now.... more updates to come!

Hello from London

2009-12-02T04:53:00.003+08:00

It's Day 1 in London and it's cold. We spoke to friends and shop assistants and they said it's the coldest day so far this year. The BBC weather forecast says it's supposed to get warmer tomorrow. Let's hope so!

We had breakfast at my old favourite: Farmer Brown on New Row in Covent Garden... Yum! Pictures to come.

We also covered a good number of places today. Started with sister's uni for her to sort out stuff, then St Pancras Intl to collect our Eurostar tickets and then it was Camden Town since we were already up North. Came back to the centre for some M&S essential shopping.

Ok that's it for now! Someone's waiting to use the computer.... Ta.....

Phuket August 2009

2009-11-23T00:16:00.002+08:00

For my birthday this year, I asked for a family trip to Phuket. It helps that my birthday falls on the day after our Independence Day (31 Aug) so there's usually a long weekend involved.

Here I am snorkeling at Ko Khai (Egg Island, because the island is shaped like an egg according to our guide).

Rommel and I fell in love with Koh Khai during our February trip. We took the full day Koh Phi Phi tour which included a stop over in Koh Khai to swim and play with the fishes.... We enjoyed Koh Khai so much (and thought Koh Phi Phi was just too commercialised) that we vowed to come back just to Koh Khai on our next trip....

This time round, we found a tour that goes to only Koh Khai... perfect! We set off around 10am, arrive at the pier at 11.30am and are on Koh Khai in 20 mins.

The fish were really hungry when we got there since the masses who come to visit after Phi Phi had not yet arrived. We were smart this time round too, we'd bought 2 loaves of bread at the convenience store near the hotel - cheaper than what they'd sell on the island! We had fun feeding the hungry fishies!

We also spent time on Patong Beach, which Rommel and I didn't get much time to do on our last trip (3 days was NOT enough!). We thought this picture was really funny cos I was trying to take a picture of Rommel and a drop of seawater got in the way.

Still on Patong Beach, I slept on the beach while Rommel and Fatteh jetskied. The people there were so kind to move the umbrella as the sun was setting so that it wont get into my eyes. Great service!

We also drove around Phuket (which is really easy by the way, can't really get lost as long as you have a map!). We stopped at one of the peaks which had great views of the island. There we met this friendly dog who ran over to my mom the moment it heard her open a Ferrero Rocher packet. Smart!!

Lastly, shopping in Phuket is amazing too! Not only do they have the el-cheapo t-shirts and cheesy souvenirs (for those who like those things), we found this shop in Jung Ceylon shopping mall that sold t-shirts designed by locals called Monkey See. I found this knitting-related top there!

We have more pictures from Phuket lurking around but this is all I have at the moment... Ta!

Winter wardrobe all set... I hope

2009-11-20T09:13:00.004+08:00

I've been busy knitting and crocheting hats and scarves for the family in preparation for our London/Paris trip.

Recent FOs include:
1) Grey hat and scarf set for my dad. Both are very simple knits. The hat is simple stockingnette in a round with gradual decreases on the top. The scarf is the most basic - garter stitch scarf. But I didn't have the time to make something more elaborate because I'd also spent time looking for an ideal yarn. I finally

2) For Rommel, I had made Boo scarf a year ago. A simple checkered pattern with Rowan RYC Luxury Cotton DK in a brown/black mix which he bought for me from John Lewis Oxford St last year. This time, I made him a matching hat from the same yarn but I decided it might not be warm enough given how cold it's been in London! So I made him another hat using leftover Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in black.

3) Another black hat - this was crocheted with minimal stretch using the same Debbie Bliss Merino Aran but ended up being too small for Rommel. I think it fits my dad's head alright but if he feels uncomfortable with it, I can wear it! This is a spare hat.

4) For my sister, I made the Ice-cream sundae hat using Katia Austral which I got from Jet Sun. The name should say it all - the yarn is striped in really sweet pastel colours. I followed the basic hat pattern from my Knit Cafe book.

5) Lastly, a simple garter stitch stripe scarf made with the softest and possibly most expensive yarn I have: two skeins of Misti Alpaca - one in teal and one in baby blue. Purchased from Loop, Islington. To share between my sister, mom and myself.

For us girls, I can go into more detail about what we are planning to wear:

Our winter wardrobe includes our matching earmuffs, scarves and gloves sets from Burberry - I'd bought the purple and orange ones in London years ago and we got the pink set in Hong Kong in 2002.

Next, winter coats - my mom will finally be able to use her Max Mara olive green coat with rabbit fur trim. She bought it three years ago in preparation of our Japan trip but she then had her fall and surgery so we cancelled that trip. I was supposed to be good and just use the existing coats we have but I saw this really nice dark brown one in Massimo Dutti last weekend and bought it. My sister is wearing "Foxy", our Max Mara cream coat with fox fur trim.

Footwear: My mom bought 2 pairs of boots in the past weeks while I bought a pair from Aldo. I'm having a tough time deciding what other pair of shoe to bring along. My sister is going with her basics - closed-toe Birkenstocks with socks. Rommel has also gotten a new pair of boots for the trip - Timberland.

Sorry there are no pictures of the recent FOs - I rushed to make them, then got them washed and have kept them with the rest of the stuff we have to pack - which is all dumped onto my brother's bed for now. Will post pictures of all of us wearing them during the holiday!

Ta for now, back to work... Have a good weekend!

Missing the beach

2009-11-12T18:17:00.001+08:00

Patong Beach, Phuket, originally uploaded by petrinaknits.

Just wanted to post this picture I took of Rommel and Patrick during our sunset swim in Patong Beach, Phuket. They had just finished a round of jetskiing while I spent my time napping on the beach.

We were trying out my new Olympus Tough - waterproof to 10m and shockproof to 2m.

Senior Citizens Luau - more pics

2009-11-09T13:30:00.002+08:00

Pictures courtesy of SFX panel of photographers. All were taken from Flickr. Many thanks!

Our cupcakes look really vibrant here!

My sister and some girls from the Youth Ministry are taking the cupcakes out of the boxes for display and distribution.

(L-R): Rommel, myself, my sis, my dad, the cute Hawaiian balloon girl.

And a pic of my mom (in bright pink) and friends.

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Shen and Mel!

2009-10-30T18:12:00.002+08:00

It's my sister's birthday weekend and unfortunately the office has planned a white water rafting trip which I can't escape from. But I'm looking at this as another way for me to rid myself of my fear of water (which was the main reason why I took up diving all those years ago!).

Wish us all luck at the rapids!!

Shen, shall we get the parents to make it up to you for leaving you alone on your birthday with a trip to Japan in spring?

Anyway, Rommel and I are off to watch the Michael Jackson "This is it" movie.

Happy Halloween! Happy Birthday Shen and cousin Melissa, the two Halloween big babies....

Senior Citizens Luau 2009

2009-10-27T17:07:00.002+08:00

My mom volunteered my sister and I to bake cupcakes for this year's Senior Citizens Luau. What we didn't was that there were going to be more than 300 people at the event. By the time we found out, we'd already committed anyway so away we went...

The event was on a Friday night so we had to bake everything on Thursday night. I rushed back from work early and between 6.30pm to about 12.30am, we baked 420 cupcakes. I was back in the office at 7am the next morning and rushed home at lunchtime to decorate the cupcakes before rushing off for a meeting that evening. Talk about madness!! It didn't help that the announcement of the privatisation of one of my companies came at that time. Sigh...

So anyway, here are the cupcakes before we started decorating.

A shot of the decorated cupcakes.

Here I am with Rose, our new Cambodian maid. She's spreading the icing onto the cupcakes while I decorate with the sugar flowers.

We stored and transported the cupcakes to church with these boxes from Bake with Yen.

And here they are ready to be distributed in church. I decided to use these paper flower cases as a base as it ties in with the Hawaiian theme.

Are we ready to go professional? I don't know...

MIGF 09: Sagano, Renaissance Hotel

2009-10-13T08:12:00.004+08:00

Rommel emailed a link over sometime 2 weeks ago, reminding me that this month is the Malaysian International Gourmet Festival (MIGF).

After scouring the MIGF website, he decided that the best deal seemed to be the one in Sagano. So of course, at the next available dinner slot we had (which was 2 Saturdays ago), my sister, Rommel and I decided to check it out. I was a bit disbelieving that the price for the entire set was RM119 (without wine) so I actually called to confirm it.

Since it is a Japanese restaurant, we decided we could dress up in kimono. This is my first time in a proper kimono, all other times I've always worn yukata because the weather is just too warm. Here my sister is fixing my obi in her room.

And now, the food:

The appetiser platter:
* Foie Gras Finger Sushi with Sweet Black Pepper Sauce
* Sea Urchin Egg Tofu with Sea Urchin Sauce
* Live Oyster with Japanese Citrus & Chili Paste

Salmon sashimi with Mango and Wasabi sauce

Paper-wrap Sea Bream with two kinds of Sagano Seafood Sauce

Grilled Marinated Wagyu Beef with Vegetables

Deep Fried King Prawn with Butter Cream Sauce (my favourite course in the entire meal)

Hokkaido Scallop & Shimeji Mushroom Rice in Japanese Pot with Cream

The menu

We had fun in the tatami room while waiting for the dishes.

Since we decided that it was pretty value-for-money, we took our parents there again the following Saturday. Of course my sister wore kimono again.

I felt like dressing comfortably that day and opted for a Calvin Klein dress (80% off at the FJ Benjamin sale 2 weekends ago!) and my favourite cream M&S cashmere cardigan. Here I am knitting Rommel's winter cap while waiting for the food while my mom looks on. She's wearing a kimono-inspired dress from Blum Singapore.

Nom! The offer lasts til the end of the month.

Restaurant: Sagano, Renaissance Hotel
Tel: +603 2162 2233
MIGF menu costs: RM149 (with wine), RM119 (without wine) and RM79 (light menu without wine).
Note: Quote the MIGF menu when ordering. If you order the MIGF menu, you can sit in the tatami rooms for no extra charge (otherwise it's RM100). Corkage is RM80/bottle.

Sage tonight? Yes please...

2009-10-09T17:10:00.002+08:00

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. Godbro Sunny and wife Mona are back in town so we're off to feast with them again!

Every time they come back from Indonesia, we make it a point to feast. The last "big" feast was during their wedding week earlier this year - the chef's menu at Sage, a full Chinese banquet dinner at the PJ Hilton and a romantic evening at Chalet, Hotel Equatorial - all on separate nights, of course!

So, tonight, it's Sage again. We first took Sunny and Mona there at the beginning of the year. All of us thoroughly enjoyed it and so I think it's almost become tradition now that everytime they're back we head there.

I haven't been to Sage in a while actually - a combination of trying new places, trying not to eat out so much and having been out of KL for holidays - so it's a welcome treat. (I can't say the same for my mom who is practically there at least once a week, so much so that the staff there are way too familiar with her.)

I've been a bad blogger though. I have all these slips of paper with that particular day's chef menu on them but I've just left them around my room. I should scan them all one day and post them up. :D

Other posts I've not been able to blog about:
- NeroTeca: Took Rommel and my sister there for lunch last Saturday and we had fun!
- Sagano: Great food for a great price! My sister's blog about it here.
- Trips to Phuket and Singapore: Plus foodie pics.
- Knit FOs: a couple of winter hats and scarves in preparation for London!

I've been tagged

2009-10-05T09:34:00.003+08:00

These words are in Portuguese, which mean,

"This Blog Messes with my senses"

Thanks so much Annie for tagging me! I always look forward to your very inspiring posts and your projects are always so well made!

The rules are:

1. Show the above tag in your blog.

2. Post these rules.

3. Link back to the blog that tagged you.

4. Make a list of the 5 senses and what each one represents for you. (I have change this and added pictures)

5. Tag five other blogs, and let them know by leaving them a comment.

My 5 senses are:

1) Sight: I love the beach and of all the beaches I've been to, one of the best is Khai Nok Island in Phuket. If only I could wake up everyday to a sight like this!

2) Sound: of what else? of waves rushing to shore.... (My sister is relaxing on a hammock at the Lone Pine Hotel in Penang.)

3) Smell: of durians.... because we've been having durians at home lately. (Here is my niece Ashley licking her fingers after all of us gorged ourselves silly with durians in Penang.)

4) Taste: My most favourite of all local dishes - assam laksa from Air Itam in Penang. Nom..

5) And finally - Touch: Nothing feels softer than cushy yarn... My sister sent me a box of goodies from London...

People I'm tagging:
Shen
Celine
Danielle
Angie
Chia Wern

New pictures of old FOs

2009-10-03T00:46:00.002+08:00

Sometimes it's fun to dig out my old FOs for a little photoshoot....

Here's Lydia cowl - take 2. I still haven't weaved the ends in for this. Lazy me...

I would like to claim that I made the shrug in the next 2 pictures but sadly, no I bought it in Bali at this cute little Japanese-owned shop called Kunci Bali. It's situated along one of the main streets of Ubud near the famous Dirty Duck restaurant. We happened to pass by after our massage and SangSpa.

Snow White - one of my most used shawls.

And the Green Fairy....

Knit FO: Mom's Birthday shawl

2009-10-03T00:38:00.002+08:00

For my mom's birthday this year, on top of the usual handbags (well, we've decided that by buying each other handbags, we can all use them!), I also crocheted her a shawl.

I chose this lovely gold and brown yarn at Jet Sun in Sg Wang, as recommended by the aunties there. My memory is very poor now and I cant remember the name of this yarn. The pattern is from one of my numerous Japanese crocheted shawls books. (My knitting books now take up 2 shelves in my room....)
* The shawl pin is actually my sister's hair pin. I took these pictures in her room since I was using her dressform as my model.

I'm dreaming of...

2009-10-02T09:21:00.002+08:00

.... lazy holidays and balmy beaches.

I know I've been quiet of late, busy with work and whatever else... And internet at home has not been cooperative so I haven't been bothered to even turn on the laptop.

So I've decided to "steal" pictures from my sister's Flickr page.

This is my knitting corner in our room at Pangkor Laut. Wish I could be back there just chilling, spending time at the amazing spa and chomping on delicious food.

We also had fun trying out batik painting...

My finished piece.... It now hangs on my room door.

Just a quick knit update:
- Lots of FOs to blog about:
1) Completed another cap, this time for Rommel.
2) Crocheted a shawl for my aunt's birthday this month. All washed, blocked and pictures taken. Just need to post pictures!
3) I started a winter scarf last night for my sister and I to use this winter. Simple garter stripes using the softest yarn I have - and at GBP10/skein, it's also one of the most expensive yarn I have. Misti International Chunky, bought at Loop in London last year.

Oh ya, I bought loads of yarn at Spotlight during our trip to Singapore (Hari Raya weekend) - Almost for S$2/ball! What a deal.... Pictures to come!

Ta!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

2009-09-18T17:01:00.002+08:00

Just wanted to wish all my Muslim friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!"

It's the long weekend here in Malaysia, with Monday and Tuesday off. And we (the family) are off to Singapore for some much needed retail therapy (well, for me at least. I haven't been to Sunny Singapore since October!).

And I conveniently read on Ravelry that Spotlight has a sale on yarns..... Ooooh Plaza Singapura here I come!

Oh btw, knitting-wise, things are good. I've been productive with 1 toddler's dress for Isabelle, 1 winter cap for my sister and 1 lace camisole for myself, all completed in the past few weeks. Pictures to come!

Ta and have a good long weekend!

Piggin' Out: Monte's @ BSC

2009-09-08T23:09:00.003+08:00

Restaurant: Monte's
Location: Level 1, Bangsar Shopping Centre (on top of WIP)

My family has patronised Monte's for many many years now. The food has always ben consistent, always familiar and of course, lip smacking good.....

Monte's reopened in July after BSC's new wing reopened post the major refurbishment. We were rather tied up that month and so were only able to check the "new" Monte's out a month later.

Good to know that other than the new decor, everything else was pretty much the same....

We love the warm buns and soft creamy butter served as you devour the menu.

But those buns cannot compare to the sinfully creamy garlic bread.

So we save the soft buns to wipe clean the sauce from the baked escargot. (I hope no one is counting the amount of butter and cream we're consuming... and this is just the starters btw.)

Something we hadn't tried before - the pan fried scallops... Doesn't look very presentable but it tastes good.

For mains, Shen had the chicken with mushroom sauce and cabbage. Pretty good.

I felt like having fish so I ordered the salmon.

Rommel had the usual steak, medium please.... For normal steaks (i.e. not wagyu or kobe), I rate Monte's the most value for money.

And Fatteh had the ostrich steak.... I can't remember how this was now which means it wasn't all that great.

Nom....

** Pictures taken with my Olympus Tough - waterproof and shockproof! Birthday present from Rommel!

Sunaina's blankie - embellished....

2009-09-08T00:47:00.002+08:00

Sunaina decided to embellish the baby blankie I made for her baby Sanjana... We hadn't known what sex the baby was when I found out about her pregnancy so I made the blankie a gender neutral one (just in case you know).

She brought it to work one day (more than a month ago now) to show me what she'd done and here are the pictures! So lovely! I'm not very good at embellishing so I was really amazed with it...

Knit FO: Apricot bag

2009-09-04T18:52:00.002+08:00

I made this during our Pangkor Laut trip in July... Really cute pattern from one of my Japanese crochet bag series. I now use it as my office minibag - I keep a small purse with some money in it and take it out with me during breakfast and lunch! Fits the purse, my mobile phone and my Blackberry perfectly! The yarn is acrylic I think that's made to feel like linen and was purchased from Tailor and Alteration in Hong Kong.

Knit FO: Kitteh curtain

2009-09-04T18:44:00.002+08:00

Finally some pictures!

Here is my first attempt at crocheting curtains.... I basically took a template from cats-themed Japanese knitting book and converted it into a filet crochet pattern. Simple simple. I couldn't decide what to use to hang the curtain up. I thought about crocheting little strings to this and tie them to the rod but was running out of yarn. In the end, I went to the hardware shop and bought some plastic shower curtain rings which works much better in the bathroom compared to metal ones!

The cotton yarn I used was bought for RM2/ball from Sally who got them really cheap in Ho Chi Minh City.

Yes, I'm here

2009-09-03T18:43:00.002+08:00

It's been a while, I know. Busy busy with work, finishing up a sector report so hopefully all goes well and it gets published soon!

I managed to sneak away for my birthday - 4 days with my family and Rommel. We headed to Phuket for some sun, sea, spa and FOOD. Pictures to come if my internet connection at home allows me to upload them! I was so annoyed a few Fridays ago when I could only upload ONE picture onto Flickr that night. Talk about ANNOYING! So many pictures and foodie stuff to blog about.... Sigh...

Knitting-wise, I've been productive (stress at work plus crappy internet at home = more knitting!).

1) I've finished my drawstring raglan which is a tad bit too big for me. I might wear it tomorrow to work and get response from my colleagues about it though.

2) I've also finished a shawl for my mom - her birthday's coming up so this will be my gift to her since she's always complaining that I never make anything for her. Really lovely gold and dark brown mix yarn - would go well with her Louis Vuitton monogramme collection!

3) I've started on a Cherry Leaf shawl (from Victorian Lace Today), using The Plucky Knitter Cashmere lace in a lovely baby blue. Pretty simple pattern to follow... So far so good!

4) I've also started a camisole for myself using 3 balls of Rowan Cashmerino in a gorgeous plum colour that my sister bought for me a while back.

Okay ta!

(Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon...)

Mad Days at work

2009-07-30T14:03:00.002+08:00

Lots to update but not enough time to update them (and when I do find the time, the internet connection at home decides to die on me).

So a quick one in the middle of my lunch break.

Knitting-wise:
In the midst of intense pressure at work, I've been destressing as much as possible with my knitting. (my fingers get all jittery when I'm stressed so knitting helps to calm me down)

-I've completed my Sunflower top and wore it out on Sunday. Must remember to take a picture of it soon.

- Also completed the Kitteh curtain for my bathroom. It's hung up now and looks super-cute. Pictures in the SLR so will need to upload them soon.

- During the Pangkor Laut trip, I also managed to make a cute little bag. I've called it Apricot bag I think. It's peach coloured yarn but I've already named another bag Peaches.

- The Apricot bag is now home to my latest bring to cinema project - the Bubblegum top. Simple stockingnette in a round using the baby pink cotton yarn I bought for RM2 from Sally who bought it in Ho Chi Minh City. This top will most likely go to my sister, although since she's back in KL for good, we can share...

- On the Drawstring raglan, I've made pretty good progress. I've completed the Feather and Fan bottom half and have done the arms holes. Also wound up 3 more skeins of the Pakucho yarn last night as I hope to make more progress with this in the coming days. I've been checking out other knitters' FOs from this pattern on Ravelry and am getting excited. I'm so happy with the simplicity of the pattern that I'm already planning to knit a second one!

Food-wise:
There are a few reviews pending I think (I've been stressed so comfort food has been necessary. Goodbye diet!). Last week was an eat-out week since the family was away (Dad in Jakarta and the rest in Singapore).

Dinners included Sage on Monday, Ri Yakitori on Wednesday, House & Co at BSC on Thursday, Flying Chillies at Gardens on Friday, Soo Kee Noodles at Imbi on Saturday, Yuzu at Gardens on Sunday.

Scandalous.... Luckily during the day I have my Herbalife shakes!!

On Pangkor Laut - I've linked my previous post to my sister's blog since she's had the time to write 4 parts for the trip!

Ta! Back to work!

Pangkor Laut - the links

2009-07-21T08:10:00.004+08:00

Sorry I haven't had time to blog about Pangkor Laut and since my sister has been more efficient (and also hogging up bandwidth at home!), here's her take on our weekend getaway - Part One, Two, Three and Four.

I've also managed to upload some photos on Facebook last night so here they are!

In a nutshell, it was an amazing holiday, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, stuffed ourselves silly and got the best service from the staff at Pangkor Laut. We also got to swim in the private pool of one of the Estates, partied the night away in the Estates and chill out on Emerald Bay.

Pictures to come soon.... Back to work!

Knit update

2009-07-15T17:06:00.002+08:00

A quick knit update since I'm feeling really restless (had katsu curry rice at Yashi no mi for lunch today with the siblings and I think having so much carbs at lunch is something alien to my body now).

The new yarns I ordered online arrived last week... So did the sushi stitch markers and knitting needles. I took a longer lunch break, went home to pick up my sister, headed over to the post office to collect the parcels, then went home again to rip open the packaging and celebrate the arrival of new things (feels almost like opening presents at Christmas).

I have also cast on for another project. I'm finally making use of Francie Stevens lace weight from the Plucky Knitter after much deliberation on what to do with my 2 skeins. I'm using the free shawl pattern that Kristine of St Seraphina sent as a thank you for purchasing her yarns. Let's hope I make some progress with this in Pangkor Laut this weekend.

Okay back to work!

Knit FO: Sunaina's baby blanket

2009-07-15T11:11:00.004+08:00

Secret project revealed!

I made this baby blanket earlier this year when I found out my colleague and friend Sunaina was going to have a baby. I've been keeping it as a secret for the past few months and can finally blog about it after giving it to her this weekend at her baby shower.

When I was deciding on the pattern, we had not yet ascertained the sex of the baby and so I wanted to keep it unisex. I also prefer simple and unfussy patterns for baby blankets so that it doesn't, in any way, irritate the baby.

I ended up deciding to do a simple reversible checkerboard pattern. Really simple and a pleasure to knit.

Yarny details:
Pattern - simple reversible checkerboard.
Yarn - Peru Naturtex Partners Pakucho Organic Cotton in cream, bought from JBW. 5 skeins used.
Ravelry post: here

Here's a pic of the two baby blankies I've made this year..

Totally disrespectful

2009-07-14T17:49:00.004+08:00

Just wanted to note some rather upsetting things in the press:

A Muslim journalist from Al-Islam and a friend attended Mass at one of the Catholic churches in KL under the pretense of "investigating if allegations that young Muslims were being converted into Christianity". At Mass, they accepted Holy Communion, spat the host out and took pictures of it.

Now, we are always fine with non-Catholics/Christians coming to our churches. In fact, we more than welcome people into our church. But, they should not take Holy Communion as this is meant for Catholics only. On top of that, their treatment of the communion host is most unacceptable. Someone I know related it to the equivalence of bringing pork into a mosque. That is the gravity of disrespect that has been shown.

Source: Cathnews.com, The Nutgraph, Malaysia Today, The Sun

I usually refrain from such outbursts but it is most appalling that these 2 people could have been so ignorant and disrespectful of other people's religion. We shall pray that they see error in what they have done and apologise for their ignorance and thoughtlessness.

Sun, sea and surf in Bali

2009-07-07T12:03:00.005+08:00

What do you think about when you think of Bali?

Is it the sun?
(Amazing sunset at Pura Tanah Lot)

Or is it sand?
(Tanjung Benoa beach)

Perhaps its the surf?
(Surfing at Kuta beach)

What do you do in Bali?

Laze around by the beach while trying to get a decent tan? (I tried to get a tan and failed miserably again)

Relax with a massage?
(SAng Spa, Ubud)

Have meals with amazing views?
(Lunch at Grand Puncak Sari restaurant, Kintamani)

Balinese food is definitely pork-laden....

We had sate babi everyday..
(The best was at Grand Puncak Sari)

We also tried the famous babi guling (suckling pig). To ensure authenticity, we got our driver to recommend a roadside stall in Kuta where the locals eat.

And for spiritual healing, we visited temples, the largest and most important being Pura Besakih with its extensive grounds. Amazing...From Bali with love...

More pictures on FB.

Piggin' Out: Restoran Homey, Kuchai

2009-07-01T08:02:00.003+08:00

Restaurant: Homey Seafood Shop
Address: No. 8, Jalan Kuchai Maju 8, Kuchai Dynasty 3, Off Kuchai Lama, 58200 KL.
Tel: +6012 311 5112 / +6016 626 1614
Business hours: 11am-3pm, 6pm-11pm. (Closed on alternate Wednesdays)

I have been keeping a secret for a long time and have been selfishly reluctant to share it. But, for the sake of good crabs, I reveal it to you today.

This is my family's favourite place to eat crabs, the first place chosen by my siblings for their homecoming feast (i.e. their first meal once they arrive home from the UK). We'd actually gone there last Wednesday the moment they arrived home, only to find it closed. We had dinner at another pretty good restaurant in Happy Garden (which I shall take pictures of and blog about another time).

So anyway, the "crab" dinner was postponed to last night.

First we gobbled up the kacang because we were starving...

And had fresh coconuts to quench our thirst....

First to arrive were the veggies - stir fried yau mak (romaine lettuce) with fu yue (fermented bean curd). One of my favourite veggies and a staple in my London diet since I could easily get romaine lettuce from Tesco.

Next was the Hokkien fried meehoon. My mom's favourite. Laden with pork lard. Yummm..

A new dish here at Homey is the Japanese snails. We had it stir fried kung po style last night. The shop has a box outfront where they rear the snails. Last night's batch were big and juicy.. The sauce was a bit sweet so I told the owner about it.

My sister's request was for the "lala soup" - clams in rice wine broth.

My dad defrosted the last fish head we have at home and brought it here for them to cook it. And cook it well they did. This is a parrot fish or sau nga yue in Cantonese. My favourite fish! Again, the sauce was a bit on the sweet side, to which the owner said that it could be due to the premium soya sauce that they've used. They've taken note of our comment though so hopefully it wont be so sweet the next time.

By the time the crabs arrived, I was already too full. But, of course we still continued chomping away since it was so good.

The best combination: Chilli crabs and deep fried mantou.

There... my secret's out. My favourite place for crabs for the past 11 years. They were our tenants at our Kuchai shoplot down the road and went under the name Restoran Tian Tian Hot Wok Food for just under 10 years.

Last year, the partners parted ways (which I had blogged about here) and so the chef and his bunch set up shop here. We were so happy to find that they reopened and have loyally followed them here.

Here's to more crabby feasts!

Can't wait to head out....

2009-06-29T23:29:00.002+08:00

... and chill by the beach.

2 more days of having to go through work. Unfortunately, it's 2 more days of a LOT of work to get done.

I know I shouldn't complain.
I know that I should just go ahead and get everything done.
I know that I should be grateful I have a decent paying job.

BUT.....

sometimes it gets to me.... the pressure, the deadlines, the urgency, having someone breathing down your neck all the time, no space of your own.

Then there are those days when all you want to do is dig a hole and stick your head into it like how ostriches do.

Today felt like one of those days.

And so my sister and I made mushroom pate tarts as a post-dinner snack. It sounds like we did a lot but in reality the whole thing took less than 15 mins - 5 mins to prepare and 10 mins baking in the oven. Ready made pastry cases from Bake With Yen topped with delectable mushroom pate all the way from Borough Market in London.

Hey we HAD to eat it. It expires today. Grandma taught us not to waste food.

And so, I'm feeling a little bit better now. Off to bed!

1 day more....

2009-06-23T08:17:00.002+08:00

... til my sis and bro arrive home from London. And their choice for their first meal home in 6 months - crabs!! (Good choice btw, we just had dinner at our favourite crab place in Kuchai on Saturday night! Nom nom nom!)

As usual, we have a list of eateries to visit, starting with my sister's "new" favourite restaurant in KL = Sage. My mom has conveniently arrange for her next strategy luncheon talk to be held there later this week and so all of us are tagging along for the lunch. (Hey, I know I'll be working but I need to eat too right?)

I also want to take them to Ri Yakitori since they've not tried it yet. And the other usual places would be like Kampachi, Iketeru, Genji, Extra Supertanker, Chawan, Champs, Gu Yue Tien, CWZJ Tea House, Xenri and many many more. No firm plans as yet but we hope to cover everywhere we want to before Patteh goes back in September.

Speaking of food, I'm hungry. Time for breakfast!

It's a Pinky Friday!

2009-06-19T08:58:00.002+08:00

I was just in the pantry when one of my female colleagues commented that quite a number of us are wearing pink today. Last week, quite a few of us wore black. Now, it's all purely coincidental that we all happen to be colour-coordinated but hey, it's fun to notice these little things. We're a small office, about 30 people so when 5 girls are wearing the same colour, that's 15% of the office already!

So anyway, it's Friday... and that makes me happy. I need to catch up on sleep tomorrow since that's something I've been seriously deprived of (although I did a pretty good job last weekend on replenishing my sleep hours).

Oh yea, another colleague commented earlier that I've lost quite a bit of weight. Yippee! Results! Now, as I have said before, I have not weighed myself so I have no idea how much (I personally think it's not much because I've been having slices of good coffee swiss roll filled with cream for dessert the past 2 nights). BUT, my clothes are telling me that I have lost a bit, and that's what I'm after. Yay!!

On knitting, I've been itching to go to Jet Sun to browse around but I haven't found a free lunchtime slot this past week. I'm thinking of going today but I also need to go to Parkson Pavilion to get my eyebrows waxed at the Benefit counter (they've called to tell me that I've not been there in a while - which means my eyebrows are totally ungroomed at the moment). And I also am in need of a good manicure and pedicure (the Colour Culture shop in Pavilion called up a few days ago to remind me that I haven't gone in a while too). Sigh, all the things we girls have to do for "maintenance".

And, I have a confession to make..... I got a case of "itchy fingers" a few days ago and did some shopping on Etsy. I've been eyeing a Sushi stitch marker set and a Sushi straight needles set from scarymerry and finally got round to buying them. So cute!!! Then I also bought some laceweight silk yarn from stseraphinaknits: Winter Sunrise and Meditation. So pretty!! Now I just have to sit and wait for the parcels to arrive..... Wheee....

Non-Diet update

2009-06-17T11:26:00.003+08:00

When I tried on one of my Trucco trousers for work this morning, it was surprisingly a bit loose. Compare this to it being unflatteringly "fitted" a couple of months back which is when I last attempted to wear it!

Does that mean I'm losing weight?? I sure hope so! I am still being stubborn and have refused to weigh myself. I'm just going by how my clothes are fitting since my ultimate goal is to fit into my existing wardrobe.

And, this is all done without much dieting surprisingly. I'm not expecting to lose much in a short period of time given the regular bingeing sessions I still have.

For example, Rommel and I went to Wasabi Bistro at the Mandarin Oriental KL last Friday to
(1) "celebrate" me passing 2 key hurdles at work that day, and
(2) to cheer Rommel up after his car was hit by some idiot a few days earlier and he has to fork out RM2500 to change the entire back left door. (We always have excuses on why we should eat at nice places.)

I wanted Rommel to try some of my past favourite dishes at this reassuringly familiar restaurant (back in the day, you'll find half the stockbroking community of KL there at lunchtime). For starters, we had Kumi's No. 1 (shredded crabsticks served with a dollop of good quality mayonnaise and lightly grilled), Dynamite Scallop (scallops and mushrooms on rice, topped with a spicy mayonnaise sauce and baked to perfection) and the sushi roll platter (which has the 3 types of maki rolls unique to Wasabi). For mains I had a tempura soba while Rommel had his usual chirashi sushi.

By the time I polished off Kumi's No. 1, I was actually already so stuffed, it got really uncomfortable for me and I barely ate my soba. The fact that my appetite has shrunk actually depresses me. Okay, okay, I know it's for the better and that I should be able to maintain this diet thing if my appetite doesn't return... BUT..... Does that mean I can't enjoy food as much anymore? *sob*

On the knitting/crocheting front, I've been focusing on my bathroom curtain - decided to use the sky blue yarn I bought from Sally for RM2 per ball. (She bought loads from Ho Chi Minh City and was kind enough to sell it to me at one of our meetups.). I'm using a cute knit-based little design which has the shadow of 2 cats peeking out but I have adapted it into a filet crochet pattern to suit the window. Pictures to come...

Kid's Fun Day

2009-06-09T22:55:00.003+08:00

Last weekend, my mom and her team organised a Kid's Fun Day for some clients' children and also invited some people from church. We had a pizza making session, cupcake decorating session (both led by your truly), craft sessions including creating a booklet for Father's Day, flowers for Mommy and beaded bracelet making, and for the younger kids, playing with Play Doh and bubbles.

The 2 following pictures were taken during the cupcake decorating session:

Say "Hi" to Melissa who was sorting out the door gifts for the kids.

Here's Su Ling helping Ashley out with her Father's Day gift...

We also had the chocolate fountain, which was a big hit with the kids (and some adults too).

This is the adorable Joshua who happily licked up all the icing just moments after smothering the cupcakes with a whole dollop. (Notice his cute little apron and lanyard? Each kid received an apron which they were supposed to wear to keep their clothes clean. And we gave them lanyards with their names on it so we'd know who was who since there were 40+ kids.)

And to end, here is an amusing picture of my niece Ashley... Luckily we didnt get any icing on the furniture! Haha...

My first attempt with coloured icing

2009-06-09T22:41:00.004+08:00

In preparation for the Kid's Fun Party, I wanted to try out the food colouring I'd bought and see what sort of coloured icing I could come up with. I used Buttercup Luxury Spread instead of the usual Golden Churn butter and the texture actually came out much better. Evelyn also said that she prefers the taste of the Buttercup spread too.

Here's the icing I came up with from the 3 colourings I had (Christmas Red, Sky Blue and Leaf Green). Since the icing was cream coloured due to the butter, the red colouring came out peachy while the blue colouring turned out more teal than blue. But everything was so sweet and pastel so I like it!

I made the usual vanilla cupcakes and tested out my pastel-coloured new muffin cases. I would say they weren't as good as the normal white cases because they're thinner and felt greasier after baking. More suited to muffins I suppose.

And the results:
(apologies for the not very good decorating skills. I'm still practising!)

My favourite was this one below:

The leftover icing... which ended up with Lina who loves icing so much, she went all the way to Rommel's office to pick them up the next day.

These are the cupcake boxes I bought from Bake With Yen. I was really happy I managed to find them. So cute and perfect for my cupcakes!!

So, do you think I can start selling my cupcakes soon? Would anyone buy them?

It's been a while...

2009-06-08T12:00:00.002+08:00

... since I did a proper update. These 2 weeks have passed by at a phenomenal speed.

A quick summary:
- Uncle Loke's passing, the wake service, the funeral, the 7 day prayers. It was a sad occasion but time was well spent with the family. Shows that in times of need, the whole family sticks together (42 of us altogether on my mom's side alone). I'm really grateful to have such a close-knit family.

- Me falling ill (bad cold/cough/fever aka flu), for which I had to take 2 days off work and was put on some pretty strong antibiotics that ended up causing gastritis as well.

- Kid's Fun Day on 6th June. This was an event my mom organized for her clients' kids where they came over to my house to do some crafts and baking. While this event was for only a day, preparations of course had to made days in advance. Mom was the one who spent most time sourcing all the craft items, door gifts and toys. I was in charge of the baking and pizza making sessions so I had to do my share of sourcing - ingredients, decorations, cupcake cases, piping bags for icing etc. Then I had to wake up at 6am and bake 200 cupcakes on Saturday morning before everyone arrived. No wonder why I'm exhausted.

- Work-wise it's been super busy for me too with various meetings and then having to write reports on those meetings (which I have yet to do btw). Plus some updates on my companies as well.

- My siblings have finished their exams and will be coming home in a few weeks. Time to plan all our makan trips and short family holidays. Our earlier plans to go to Japan have sadly been postponed due to swine flu. We are now planning little trips around the country (Cuti-Cuti Malaysia) which is good for me in terms of taking leave and we're helping our own economy. First short family trip is most likely to Pangkor Laut next month. Can't wait to get there and check myself into their spa villas and pamper myself silly.

*********************************************************************************

Knit update:
Nothing new except my Sunflower top, which was to replace the Storia top as my cinema project (the WIP I bring along to watch movies).

Storia top has been put on hold because I dont like how it feels on my skin when I try it on so now I'm thinking I might just frog the whole thing and make something else that will have less body contact.

The Lorna Laces' shawl is coming along pretty well. I've finished the right panel (finally!) and had cast on the left panel last week. This is my traffic jam project (the WIP I have in my car for me to knit when I'm stuck in traffic jams).

New projects:
I have a headache on what to knit for my upcoming Bali trip (with Rommel and friends). Should I make a light cotton lace poncho or shawl as a cover up when at the beach? Or a nice summery cotton hat? Decisions decisions....

I also want to crochet a new curtain for my bathroom at home. I was in the shower last night and was staring at the current curtains which I realised are more than 10 years old now. Since the bathroom has white tiles with a blue border going for the Mediterranean look, I thought a nice crocheted lace panel using white cotton (like the Katia Nilo that I used for the side table doily) would suite the window. Or maybe yellow to brighten it up. Or maybe make 2 in both colours and change them everytime the curtains are due for a wash!

*********************************************************************************

Diet update:
Dont think I've lost much weight since I pretty much stopped the Herbalife shakes when I fell ill. For some reason, I was getting hungry rather quickly. And the gastric attacks were not helping.

BUT, I have done something that will hopefully give me a bit more motivation: Rommel bought me a Paul Frank bikini with matching beach shorts, beach towel and flipflops. All for the Bali trip and Pangkor Laut trip. Let's see if that helps!

*********************************************************************************

Pending posts:
- The Kid's Fun Party - all the pictures from that day need to be uploaded.
- My test-bake session the weekend before, in preparation for the Kid's Fun Party (although pictures are already uploaded onto Flickr).
- Our dinner last night: crocodile meat cooked 3 ways (herbal soup, braised and stir fried with noonles). The meal also included ox-tail stew, neutered chicken, fried fish, stir fried veg and fried rice. So much for my diet! No pictures though because I forgot to bring my camera.
- My feather and fan shrug which was completed last week but no pictures as yet.

Knit FO: Side table doily

2009-06-06T00:47:00.002+08:00

After months of procrastination, I finally made a doily for my side table over a couple of days. It fits just nice! My sister is wondering though why we call them pineapple doilies when they look like strawberries. Why really? I have no idea.

Details:
Pattern: No.37 from Pineapple Lace Doily book. (ISBN978-4-529-04470-7)
Yarn: 2 balls of Katia Nilo
Hook: Japanese hook Size 5

Knit FO: Basic crochet bolero No.1

2009-05-30T08:36:00.003+08:00

Finally, I've grabbed the chance to take some pictures of my crochet bolero, which is named No.2 because I have a No.2 which I made for my cousin Vanessa.

I've worn it a few times now so it's somehow loosened up along the way but the yarn is really soft and comfy!

Project details:
Yarn: Sublime cashmerino silk aran in olive green.
Hook: Japanese hook size 7.
Notes: No.2 was made following the simple single crochet border pattern (the picture on the left in the book) whereas No.1 was made with the frilly border (picture on the right). - see my post on No.2 for pictures of the book.

P/S: Shen, notice that Coach bag in the corner? New luggage!! (Coach is on sale now and Ma's bought quite a bit. Prada starts its presale on Monday.. Die die die.)

R.I.P., Uncle Loke

2009-05-26T14:32:00.003+08:00

I would just like to offer prayers for my Uncle Henry Loke, who has just passed away after a long battle with cancer. May you rest in peace.

For my Auntie Theresa, Su Yen and Su Ling, Allen, Ashley and Nicholas, my condolences and prayers are with you too.

No details about the wake service or mass as yet. Will update when I have them.

*** Edited on 28 May:

Apologies I was unable to provide details until now. Too many things going on at the same time.

We had Uncle Loke's funeral mass today in St Ignatius Church, Kelana Jaya. Su Ling's eulogy was very touching and moved almost everyone to tears. In my mom words, she said Su Ling described her father perfectly. After that we headed to the Nilai Memorial Park for the burial. Uncle Loke now rests just down the road from where gonggong and porpor are.

Knit FO: Chantilly Baby Blankie

2009-05-22T23:57:00.002+08:00

Doesn't baby Mikayla look all snug and comfy? Her mommy Olivia posted this on Facebook and so I just had to put these up here since I realised I hadn't taken many pictures of the blankie before it was given.

These photos were taken at Mikayla's full moon party last week, which we couldnt attend as we had something on... So we're having Part Deux of the party over in our house tomorrow. Can't wait to meet baby Mikayla!!

Details:
Yarn: Katia Chantilly (Super soft and machine washable... perfect for newborns!)
Needles: 4mm circs
Pattern - just simple garter stitch rectangle because I tried various patterns but they didn't show up nicely since the yarn is pretty fuzzy...

Piggin' Out: Ri Yakitori, The Gardens

2009-05-17T23:39:00.005+08:00

Restaurant: Ri Yakitori
Address: Level 7, The Gardens Hotel (you have to take the lift inside the hotel to get there)
Tel: 03 2268 1188
Other reviews: AWOL, Masak-masak, Cher-ry

When I first heard from my colleague Geraldine that there was a new Japanese restaurant in The Gardens, I was so happy. Finally! A new place to try in my usual weekend hangout. The rest of the restaurants were getting a bit boring and some even dropped in terms of standards. What's more, it's a kushiyaki place.... and my dad LOVES kushiyaki. In fact, all of us love it (right, Shen?). We pigged out a lot when we last visited Japan.... and we declared the best kushiyaki to date was this little roadside stall called Okamoto in Fukuoka.

Anyway, back to this... A quick google led me to boo_licious' blog, masak-masak, which pretty much sealed the deal for me. I'd heard about it on Wednesday. 2 days later, I dragged Rommel and my parents there for dinner.

For starters, they served us cute little portions of potato salad and some rolled up tuna thingy which was really nice. (Okay bad description but I can't remember what it was!)

Then they served us 2 slices of tuna tataki... (all on the house so far, just to start us off while we decided what to order).

The condiments were salt, togarashi and miso.

I'd read about the cold sake and the interesting contraption that it came with. Of course I had to check it out!

Each person gets to choose their own sake cup and this was mine... Pretty innit?

We had the chicken meatballs in soup. Pretty tender meat, rather mild and refreshing soup.

My staple at every Japanese restaurant: the fried chicken or tori karaage. The one here wasn't as crispy, a bit soft and tender. I won't say it's not nice... just different.

The wagyu was not too bad. Not the best grade of wagyu but since it's grilled this way, it's a bit of a waste to use anything better I suppose.

Ri Yakitori specialises in everything chicken. So we ordered the omakase or chef's special of the day. RM58 for 12 sticks I think it was. The staff will ask you beforehand if you eat chicken innards or not so if you don't, not to worry, they've got the usual wings and breast etc..

The shitake mushrooms... I love mushrooms, cooked in any way. Here it's sprinkled with bonito flakes.And the piece de resistance..... foie gras with strawberries! Amazing combination! *swoon*

We'd read that Ri Yakitori's salads were pretty good too so we ordered the daikon salad and the chicken salad. Yum.... I've always liked Japanese-style salads...
The okonomiyaki was so-so only though... I think I make better ones.. (Speaking of which, I haven't made them in a while. And I have yet to try out the takoyaki maker my sis ordered online and got it shipped home! Takoyaki party anyone?)

We also tried the ramen and the zosui for our carbo portions. My picture of the zosui didn't come out nice but here's the ramen... We found the soup really salty and mentioned it to the chef... But we were asked to eat it sort of cold soba-style where you lightly dip the ramen in the soup and slurp it in... Don't leave the ramen in for too long or it'll be too salty. Other than that, it was nice and something different.

We also ordered the braised kampung eggs. Again I found this too salty... Am not sure if I even like this.

For dessert, my dad squeezed a free scoop caramel icecream out of them.... Slightly bitter aftertaste but it was actually a good thing.

We also ordered matcha icecream and goma icecream... both served with azuki beans and mochi, and sprinkled with peanuts and matcha powder.

Will we go back? Yes, I'm looking forward to it already. Too bad this place closes on Sundays cos that's the day I'm usually at Gardens watching a movie (like today we watched Angels and Demons, last week we watch Star Trek and the week before we watched Wolverine.)

Piggin' Out: Cristang, 8 Avenue

2009-05-15T23:39:00.003+08:00

Restaurant: Cristang
Address: B-G-19, 8 Avenue, Petaling Jaya (behind Courts Mammoth, Wisma Thrifty)
Tel: 603-7956 7877
Cuisine: Eurasian
Previous review *here*
Other reviews: absolut ginger
Check their Facebook group *here* for more details

Rommel and I went back to Cristang a week after our first visit and got a few friends to join us. Unfortunately, the rest already had their lunch and weren't hungry... So we ended up just ordering the starters...

I love the otak otak.... really soft, oily but not too oily, served with crackers that seemed to go really well with it.

The deep fried calamari was not too bad too. Crispy, fresh and not tough to chew.

And the Devils on Horseback, which we ordered the last time too.. Grilled back bacon wrapped over asparagus spears

*yum*

Piggin' Out: Chicken rice at Supertanker

2009-05-15T23:29:00.002+08:00

Restaurant: Extra Supertanker
Location: Bukit Utama Golf Club
Previous review here

My dad has been talking about the chicken rice cooked by the chef here in the new Supertanker... whom we know as Kou Lou... He was previously from the Overseas Restaurant in Armada and my dad had heard from some of his friends that Kou Lou's chicken rice was pretty good.

An opportunity came when we had bring over all the stuff for the Roof fund-raising dinner. We'd already spent the whole day getting everything sorted (not to mention the weeks of preparation before that). So everyone was pretty tired by the time we got there and wanted something simple..

My dad had already expected this and pre-ordered the chicken rice. We had two types of chicken - neutered chicken and kampung chicken... Couldn't really taste much difference actually.

We also had a platter of siew yoke, char siu and roast duck, deep fried squid, deep fried brinjal and stir fried veg...

And the verdict? I quite liked it. The chicken was alright... and you could tell it was good quality chicken. The rice was fragrant (which meant a lot of fat was used). The chilli sauce was a bit disappointing. I think we make better chilli sauce at home.

Will I order this there again? I dont think so. I'm happy with the one we cook at home. Simple and nice.

Isetan sale starts today... and Dr Sebagh

2009-05-15T17:05:00.003+08:00

The Isetan 11th Anniversary sale started today with the Members Day. I made sure I had my Isetan card and my credit cards and headed there at lunchtime. I wasn't interested in everything though. In fact, I've never actually been for a Member's Day sale and was worried about the crowds. But, Mom wanted me to get some stuff from the Dr. Sebagh counter in Isetan KLCC since the offer (for today only) was a free gift pack worth RM588 when you spend RM1000 and above.

Who is Dr Sebagh? Here's the results when you google him up.

My mom and I were introduced to his brand at a child's birthday party in the Shangri-la KL a month ago. While we were a bit out of place given that we didn't have any kids with us, our hostess (the birthday boy and birthday girl's mother) has always made sure that the parties were not a boring affair for adults. The kids were kept busy with some glass painting at one corner, an inflatable castle in another corner and a PS3 corner for the older kids. Of course there were clowns and cutesy cupcakes and kiddy snacks as well. But for the adults, this time, she got the team from Ken's Apothecary to set up tables and we got free hand masssages using Laura Mercier products. We also got to buy the Laura Mercier products at a great price (and I'm a sucker for a bargain) so Mom and I bought some shower gel and body lotion sets.

They also had a Dr Sebagh counter because our hostess has been using their products and found great improvement to her skin. Mom of course decided to try (you'll never find out if things are really good or not until you try them for yourself). She got the Serum Repair and the Vitamin C powder and they gave her the moisturiser sample to try out.

After two weeks of using, our regular hairstylist, Florence (of A Cut Above Midvalley), asked Mom if she'd done anything to her face because her skin was looking firmer. So if Florence can tell a difference (she's been seeing my mom every 1-3 days for the last 8 years so she knows her pretty well), that says something.

The person who talked my mom into buying the Dr Sebagh products that day is Maggie. I first met Maggie, who is based at the Dr Sebagh counter in Bangsar Village, a few months back in Bangsar Shopping Centre where I, in a random splurge phase, bought a bottle of Annick Goutal's Petite Cherie from her. She recognised me that day at the birthday party and so it started from there. She's also recommended me the eye cream for my dark circles and fine lines (sigh I blame my job) but she didn't have it with her that day.

So I was supposed to go over to BV one of these days to buy the eye cream there but when we spotted the offer in Isetan, I thought, why not? And so...... here's the damage done today:

Eye Expert for Mom - RM319,
Extreme Moisturise and Serum Repair set for Mom - RM1309
For Your Eyes Only for myself - RM519

Total = RM2147

Let's just see if my eyebags and dark circles really go away....

Piggin' In: Lok-lok at home

2009-05-13T23:33:00.006+08:00

For our post-Easter celebrations with the RCIA team, we decided to have a lok-lok (literally translated as dip-dip) party at our home. We had our first lok-lok party experience in my Uncle James' house in Setia Alam during Christmas and thought it was a fun idea!

The lok-lok van arrived at around 6.30pm, as scheduled and the guy quickly set everything up. Look at all the stuff we had!

We also ordered barbecued and deep fried stuff as extras... I must admit I'm actually not a big fan of lok-lok, I dont know why, maybe it's because I've never been a fan of fishballs. So, all the fried stuff was great! (not great for my diet though)

We welcomed the newly-baptised with a carrot cake made by godbrother Calvin...

Just in case the lok-lok wasn't filling or was insufficient, we ordered slabs of siew yoke which I'd blogged about yesterday.... 5kgs worth of it. I was put in charge of chopping them up..

We also had fruits to serve for dessert and in case anyone needed their carbo portions, Rommel and I bought charsiu wantan mee from the DDP food court.

I also brought out my bubble machine and the kids had fun with it...

And finally, I leave you with a picture of cute little Gabrielle....

Coach - the new season

2009-05-13T08:08:00.002+08:00

Shen, I know I was supposed to do this ages ago but hey at least I'm finally doing it! Here you go... Pictures of the Coach bags Ma bought on her Singapore trip last month.

First is the Leather Olive from the Bonnie Collection. I haven't had an occasion to use this yet but it's cute and not too small so I can still fit all my junk in it.

Next is my favourite thus far.... the Bonnie canvas tote. Huge, lots of little pockets and absolutely perfect for weekends.

And the third bag Ma bought was the Bonnie signature foldover crossbody. Quite nice to use too... I pair this with my Bimba and Lola ballet pumps which happen to be in the same shade of pink!

And then, the Mother's Day present I bought for Ma this weekend... I can't seem to find a picture of it, even on the Coach website so the closest resemblance is the Parker Leather Tattoo Print Clutch, pictured below. Similar except the body is made of straw I think and the leather trimming on the one I bought was baby pink and the clutch is a foldover. (Do you get it?) Anyway I'll take a picture of it soon I guess...

** Pictures courtesy of www.coach.com

Knit FO: Ashley's bag

2009-05-12T22:51:00.002+08:00

It was my niece, Ashley's birthday last weekend and I wanted to make her a little bag but didn't have much time to do it. Snuck a couple of minutes over 3 nights and here's what I came up with:

Something small and cute that she can maybe play with. I'm not sure. I'd used it as a projects bag but what can she use it for? I'll check with her when I next see her if she liked it. But I think she would have preferred the Barbie Kelly doll and pony that I got her too...

Details:
Pattern: The base was from one of the Japanese knitting books and I made up the top part.
Yarn: Leftovers from various projects.
Crochet hook size: 4mm

The best siew yoke in the world...

2009-05-12T22:41:00.002+08:00

... by my standards, that is..... can be found at the address below:

If you can't read the address, it's No 94, Jln Rukun 2, Tmn Gembira, Kuchai Lama, KL. Call Kit at 012 633 8614 if you get lost.

For a very long time now, I've been selfish. Because I didn't want anyone else to start patronising this establishment which has been to me, all these years, the best siew yoke ever. As it is, everything's usually sold out before 1pm and you have trouble getting a table. Lucky for me, the uncle who runs the place is my dad's schoolmate from Rawang and so I get "special" treatment. Then I found out that he's my boss' wife's uncle when we once had a debate about... what else... the best siew yoke in town! Talk about what a small world it is!! So my boss obviously gets better treatment than I do! Haha..

Just look at that perfection....

P/S: The pieces look like they were chopped a bit too big. That's my fault! We'd ordered like 5 kgs of siew yoke for a party we had at home and I had the honour/duty of chopping it up for the guests. 5kgs of it no joke......

Diet update: Day 13

2009-05-05T09:27:00.002+08:00

Just a quick update on what's been happening with my Herbalife diet.

Didn't really follow it over the long weekend. I did have the shake and teamix for breakfast on Friday morning but after that was the Kampachi lunch and chicken rice dinner at Supertanker after a whole afternoon of cutting paper and tying ribbons.

Saturday was a blur really. I had the shake and teamix for breakfast before heading to A Cut Above to get my hair done for the fund-raising dinner. Ate lunch with Rommel at this Thai restaurant opposite Eu Yan Sang in the lower ground connection between Midvalley and Gardens. I dont know the name but the food was so awful anyway so I wont bother blogging about it. Dinner was at the event (in Supertanker again) but since we were running up and down most of the night, we barely ate. Ended up tarpauing maggi mee goreng and milo ais from Neela's at 1am. Bad bad bad...

Sunday - woke up in time for 11.30am mass but not to take my shake. Lunch was again in Supertanker where we had 3 types of noodle dishes. Yum... We tried dinner at Cristang which I blogged about *here*.

Day 12, i.e. yesterday, I was good and had the shake for breakfast and lunch. At lunch, I also had stirfried veg as well since I wanted something savoury. Dinner was not so good though cos Evelyn cooked claypot chicken rice and it was laden with chinese sausages. Since we didn't have time over the weekend to buy groceries, Rommel and I went to Bangsar Village to buy meat and veg and ended up also buying strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and whipped cream. Ooh...

So yea, if I don't look like I haven't lost much weight, you know why.... :D

Kampachi May promotion:

2009-05-04T00:27:00.002+08:00

Kampachi at Hotel Equatorial KL is having a scallop promotion for the month of May. Scallops from the Aomori prefecture, Japan, cooked teppan-style and served with shimeji and enoki mushrooms and garnished with sliced spring onions.

I saw it in the papers on 30 April and got so excited, Rommel and I headed there the next day for lunch to check it out! RM68 per portion. Oooh..... I think I might just pop by tomorrow lunchtime again to have this since my office is just across the street. Anyone want to come along?

Piggin' Out: Cristang, 8 Avenue

2009-05-03T22:54:00.003+08:00

Restaurant: Cristang
Address: B-G-19, 8 Avenue, Petaling Jaya (behind Courts Mammoth, Wisma Thrifty)
Tel: 603-7956 7877
Cuisine: Eurasian
Other reviews: absolut ginger
Check their Facebook group *here* for more details

On Wednesday, Rommel sent me this link to a restaurant behind Courts Mammoth and said let's do dinner there that night. He read it was 20% off all their pork burgers on Wednesdays. Plus, they served pork vindaloo and he's been having cravings for it for a while now. (No, I do not know how to cook it but I suppose some day soon I'll ask his mom how she makes hers, since he likes her version of the dish but obviously isn't inclined to learn how to make it.)

But, given that we had much to do in preparation for this weekend's fund-raising dinner (which I might blog about another time but it went very well, thank you. We raised more than the targeted RM250,000 for our church roof fund.), we weren't able to check it out last week. Finally, our first free slot was tonight's dinner and we decided to take the opportunity.

Ambience and service
Clean, simple decor, a little quirky but in a nice and warm way. Service is a bit on the slow side since there was only 1 waiter tonight who also made the drinks and took the orders and brought the bill at the end. But, the food came promptly and there was only 1 other table of 4 when we were there. The restaurant owners were also around if we really needed to holler for anything.

Food
For starters, we shared the Devils on Horseback - grilled back bacon wrapped over asparagus spears, drizzled with a red wine reduction (RM9.30 for 3 pieces). Bacon and asparagus are one of the great meat-and-veg pairings in my books.... like beef and mushrooms. The Japanese call it umami......

Rommel had the pork vindaloo with plain rice (RM15.80 for a small portion and RM1.20 for the rice). He found the vindaloo not the best, but good enough to satisfy his cravings. I thought the vindaloo needed a bit more salt but that could be because the bacon in the starter and my burger had already skewed my tastebuds. We just wished that it came with more kuah because how do you enjoy a curry when it lacks the kuah, right?

Since we'd read that the pork burgers are good, I decided to try one. The burger menu is separate and has variations called P1 to P6. I can't rattle off the descriptions of all the types but I remember P4 to P6 had petai in them. I'm no fan of petai so I chose P3 - pork burger topped with cheese and chilli con carne (Rm22.80). Loved the burger. You can tell that the patty is homemade. It was sufficiently juicy, tasty and I really liked the pickles that came on top. The burger comes with baked potato wedges on the side. Shen, I think you'll like the wedges. Homemade, with a generous sprinkle of good herbs.

For dessert, we ordered the tiramisu (RM18.80). Now, I've been told my tiramisu is pretty decent (best compliment yet is from my colleague Edward who can be rather difficult to please when it comes to food - he said my tiramisu was almost as good as his wife's.), so I'm always curious to find out how restaurants serve theirs. Cristang didn't disappoint.

First, owner Gerald comes to our table to ask how much alcohol would we like in our tiramisu. He makes them to order and so it can be made according to our preference. Rommel being Rommel, of course said the more the better. In less than 10 minutes, Gerald's whipped up a yummylicious looking tiramisu on a plate. He's added Cointreau and orange liquior into it. A very nice twist indeed, somehow reminding me of the crepe suzette in Chalet. Only one issue with it - not enough mascarpone. But that's cos I'm really generous with mascarpone in my tiramisu - if I had to make it and sell it for a living, I don't think I'll be able to make much money. Just like the amount of ricotta I use for my cheesecakes!

Drinks
I had a Red D-tox (watermelon, carrot and orange juice, RM8.80) which was freshly made and not too bad while Rommel had the ice lemon tea (RM4).

The bill.... came up to RM89.30. Not too bad la since we had a starter and dessert too.

Will I go back? Yup... now trying to suggest to the parents to take them there to try.

** Apologies for the lack of pictures today. I didn't bring my camera out cos we went to watch Wolverine earlier and I hadn't known where we were going for dinner.

Zara-Massimo Dutti-Pull & Bear sale : 3 days more

2009-04-30T21:56:00.000+08:00

We're stuck in a jam getting out of The Curve cos we went for the Zara-Dutti which started today until Sunday. Loads of ppl, long queue to get it, lotsa pushing and shoving and grabbing stuff off the racks... You know the drill..

BUT, I managed to get quite a bit of things. I can't tell you right now how many cos I can't remember how many things I bought. It was more of the grab-and-pay type of thing. I remember I managed to find the lilac dress from Zara that I really liked in Barcelona but didn't buy in the end. Only RM89.90!! What a steal esp since I remembered it costing >RM400. It's at times like these that I'm happy I'm not average-sized.

Ma, on the other hand, had trouble finding things in her size.. Plus, she'd most probably already bought the item at full price if she liked it earlier on.

So yea, on our way home to sort them out!

I'm on a diet!

2009-04-29T13:56:00.004+08:00

Yes, I mean it.

For the first time in my life, I'm actually attempting to follow a diet plan. Previously, all I ever did was say that I wanted to do something about my weight/not fitting into my clothes/cholesterol issues/spending too much on food etc... and then procrastinated about it.

So anyway, last week, Aunty Diane came over to speak to me about Herbalife. Now, I've heard alot about Herbalife from various people, that it's worked for them or someone they know and so I was receptive to the idea of starting on it. Tried the F1 drink, tried the teamix and decided that I was alright with the taste. So, voila! My diet began last Thursday.

One week on, today, I'd like to report that I think I've lost weight. Let me emphasize that I can only presume that I've lost the weight. Why? Cos I didn't bother to weigh myself before going on this diet. My main aim at this point is to fit into my clothes. And so far, it looks like the clothes that were getting a bit too tight are getting back to normal again. If this keeps up, I hopefully will be able to fit back into my old clothes, which have been chucked aside for the past 2 years.

My colleagues all know ab0ut my new diet plan since they see me in the pantry every day with my whole box of Herbalife products, making the shake for my breakfast and lunch. One colleague then said he's been on the diet for the past month and has lost 3 kgs so far. And he hasn't been that strict about it either! Apparently, if we're really diligent, we can lost about 1kg a week. Not bad not bad.

Shen, if that happens to me, I might be able to lose 8kgs before you guys come back for summer! Muahahaa....

I'll let you in on a secret though... I didn't stick to the diet all weekend, more like pigged out the whole weekend! 2 siew yoke feasts, 1 dip-dip dinner feast, 1 birthday party lunch.... yup, definitely ate more than I should have. But scarily, I'll say that is maybe the usual amount we eat on weekends anyway. No wonder why I've been putting on weight.

And so, my daily diet now consist of:
- Breakfast: 1 cup of teamix after our morning meeting (~8.20am), followed by 1 portion of the F1 shake.
- Mid-morning: 1 energy bar because I get hungry around that time.
- Lunch: 2nd portion of the F1 shake with some cut fruits or stir fried veg from the stalls at the back.
- Mid-afternoon: Another energy bar since I get hungry again.
- Dinner: the usual dinner at home.
- and of course, drink lots of water throughout the day.

So, I've essentially broken my meals up into 5 smaller portions, cut my meat and carb intake and getting my stomach adjusted to less food.

Does this mean less food reviews? I hope not... We still do go out for meals, especially on weekends. Besides, I've still got a few reviews I have yet to do....

Let's see how much weight I lose!

Knit FO: Peaches bag

2009-04-26T02:16:00.003+08:00

Following the same pattern I used for the Rose bag, I used a long forgotten yarn that I've kept in my drawers for quite a while now... Jaeger Celeste, which I think is now discontinued. Here, I followed the pattern almost exactly, with a very small modification to the handles.

I really like this pattern because it's so simple and looks really nice!

Some close-ups of the pattern...

Yarn: Jaeger Celeste in a light peach, Shade 178. 50% Viscose, 30% Polyamide and 20% Linen. Bought at least 5 years ago in John Lewis, London.
Pattern: From one of my Japanese pattern books for bags.
Hook: Clover No.10

Knit FO: Rose bag

2009-04-26T02:11:00.002+08:00

I made this bag to match my Rose shawl, but it ended up being too small for me. So, I gave it to Jo and Tim's daughter Isabella today since she's a really cute toddler and likes bags (starting young!).

Yarn: Katia Sevilla, the same yarn used for the Rose shawl
Hook: Clover No.7
Pattern: From one of my Japanese knitting books, but I modified the handles.

Knit FO: Biggy Bucket Bag

2009-04-26T02:06:00.002+08:00

Part of my trio of bags series from last week is the Biggy Bucket Bag. I named it as such because it's made with Rowan Biggy and I wanted the bag to look like a bucket bag. I'd took more photos of this bag but they didn't turn out that nice so these are all I have for now.

Yarn: Rowan Biggy in dark brown, bought ages ago in John Lewis, London.
Hook: Clover size 8.
Pattern: Nothing really, just single crocheted the base of the bag similar to peaches but the whole top part is just single crochet in a round.

Sunny and Mona's wedding in pictures

2009-04-26T01:55:00.003+08:00

Godbrother Sunny got married last week and I managed to take some pictures at the lunch do after the wedding mass and also some at the wedding dinner in PJ Hilton.

First up, the lovely couple posing with the wedding cake.
The theme for the church wedding was lilac and cream.

Close ups of the wedding cake (beautifully made by godbrother Calvin of Black Forest Tavern)

Cutting the cake...

Calvin also made extra cupcakes for the guests...

... which blended perfectly with the fresh flower posies...

Me, the frazzled bridesmaid at the end of it all... This is the only picture I have of myself from that morning.

Rommel was the best man, who didnt have as much to do and therefore still looked calm at the end.

And some pictures from the wedding dinner...

Mom and godsis Carolyn.

Sunny's friend Masa from Japan, Sunny and Carolyn..

Knit FO: Rose shawl

2009-04-23T00:16:00.003+08:00

For my godbrother Sunny's wedding dinner, I bought this black tube dress with red roses from Coast (30% off!). I didn't want to wear it just on its own and so decided to crochet a shawl to match it. And the end result was... the Rose shawl.

Here I am that night, in my ensemble, with godsister Carolyn. My outfit also included our Louis Vuitton bangles (2 red, 1 black and 1 clear) and a rose choker I found in Mom's room.

Details:
Pattern: From one of my Japanese crocheted shawls books.
Yarn: Katia Sevilla, from Jet Sun in Sg Wang Plaza.
Crochet hook: Japanese size 9

Easter 2009

2009-04-22T22:56:00.005+08:00

Finally found some time and the internet isnt being too wonky so I've managed to upload the pictures I took during Easter onto Flickr.

This was taken while we were waiting for the newly baptised to change and come back into church

I'm pretty happy that this picture below came out rather clear, considering that it was totally dark and the camera was on manual. Father Simon is lighting the Easter Fire.

The fresh flowers that we'd used to decorate the pews and the baptismal font matched the flowers at the altar perfectly. Of course, Mom had coordinated with the flower ladies earlier so that everything blends. We're proud that our first attempt with fresh flowers, tiring as it was, turned out pretty nice!

Our Easter candles...

The Easter candles we made for the sponsors. I didnt get to take a picture of the ones we made for the newly baptised but it's similar to the ones above.

More pictures of the newly renovated church interior:

Pictures of the ladies changing room which I took before mass:

And finally, cupcakes I baked for everyone.... We had food catered from Le Oriental as usual but I thought to make some extra desserts...

Quick update

2009-04-16T16:03:00.002+08:00

Been busy with work all week and Easter over the weekend hence the blogging hiatus. But, I just wanted to say:

Congratulations, Olivia and Kok Beng!!! Their baby girl was born this morning. No details yet but I wanna go visit! :)

...and incidentally, it's my brother's birthday today. So..... Happy 18th Birthday, Fatteh!! You're finally at the legal drinking age, although I'm trained you well enough to hold your liquor all these years so I dont expect you to get totally sloshed. But yea, go ahead and have fun in London! I've put in the $$$ in your bank account so you know what to do.

I've also been busy with Sunny and Mona's wedding which is this Saturday. Rehearsal on Tuesday night, first dinner tonight at Sage, tea ceremony and church wedding and luncheon and dinner all on Saturday. It's been really fun though and we hope everything goes alright! This is my first time as bridesmaid so I'm really nervous! Mom's doing the decoration for the church and lunch and I think it'll turn out really pretty. Will take lots of pictures that day!

Finally, I've been bitten by the crocheted bags bug. For the past few months, I've been crazy about shawls but last week, something came over me (maybe it was the flu bug I caught in the office). In the past one week, I've completed 3 bags:

1) Rose bag - Finished this in a day but it was too small (but cute!) for me to use so I'm planning to give it away. I made it using Japanese hook size 7 and leftover yarn from my rose shawl which I finished last week, for me to use at Sunny's wedding dinner this Saturday. But it's okay, I have other red bags to match my outfit.

2) Peaches bag - Made in the same base pattern as the Rose bag (although I changed the handles for Rose), using my Japanese hook size 10 and a long-lost yarn I found in the corner of one of my yarn drawers - Jaeger Celeste in a pretty peach colour. Finished this last night after some manic crocheting while watching American Idol.

3) Biggy Bucket bag - started this on Saturday night after a lengthy discussion with my sister on what I should make. I used Rowan Biggy in dark brown which I've had for a long time and previously made into a poncho (which was frogged twice). Made it with the 8mm Clover crochet hook I bought at Tailor and Alteration, Hong Kong. Also completed yesterday as I just wanted to finish it, despite it already being so late at night.

I find that I really, really like making bags. Lots of flexibility, no worry about the fit and best of all - it's so quick to make. Plus, it's more practical to use in our weather vs knitwear and socks.

Now I just need to find time to take the pictures and post them. Ta!

Stress led me to PattyBelle

2009-04-08T11:08:00.004+08:00

Everyone reacts differently to stress. In my case, I've come to realise that while I rarely lose my cool during stressful times (as in I rarely act in a panic or rush through things).

But my body has taken a different turn on how it handles stress. In recent months, I've had spells of really bad headaches, weird rashes and eczema on my body, multiple mouth ulcers at a go and most recently, my cold sores have made a major comeback.

I've had cold sores since I was very young and used to get it at least once a year. Tried all sorts of products and home treatments but nothing was as effective as taking lysine supplements, as recommended by a pharmacist in Covent Garden in 2004. Elated, I'd thought I found the solution to my cold sore issues. Then I later found out that lysine is also the active ingredient in Appeton - i.e. it helps to build your appetite. Which is something I obviously dont need.

But anyway, I stopped taking lysine after finding this out but didn't have any cold sores for the past 5 years. Suddenly, after a stressful week, I felt that familiar tingling yet painful feeling at the corner of my lips. Over the past few days, it has now erupted into a full-scale cold sore, something I haven't had in maybe 10 years.

The sad thing is, I doubt my boss believes that all my issues are probably stress-related. Sure, I always seem to be in a jolly mood and am usually responsive to stuff but that doesn't mean that I'm not stressed. I just absolutely abhor it when people throw tantrums when they're stressed (which I've seen a lot of) and so I dont wish to do the same to others. There is no point having a go at someone else when it's not their problem.

Sorry to rant on but I just wanted to get it off my chest.

And since my horoscope this morning said I should treat myself with a small reward, I took heed and bought something.... here it is:

** Photo taken from PattyBelle.com

This is Violet Dreamy Duchess headband from PattyBelle.com. Cost me RM50 including shipping. I found this website while checking out Tongue in Chic, a local fashion blog that keeps the not-so-fashionable me up to date with the local fashion scene.

My justification for making this purchase:
1) I'm stressed
2) I really like all of Patty's headbands so this is my first purchase to assess the service and delivery time.
3) I want to do more in supporting local crafters, especially since I would like to try selling some of my own stuff in future. It's great to have a thriving market for these things.
4) I think the headband will go perfectly with my lilac bridesmaid dress for Sunny's wedding next weekend. The dress is super simple and so I hope the headband will dress it up.

Ah, feeling much better.

Piggin' Out: Assam Laksa Air Itam

2009-04-05T00:36:00.002+08:00

This post just needs this one picture. Just look at that lovely bowl of assam laksa heaven. Staring at it now makes me want to go back there just to eat this.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was the highlight of my trip to Penang. Assam laksa from the stall next to the Air Itam market. My cousin Su Ling was raving about it during our last trip in August and insisted that we all follow her there to eat this. We'd wondered what was the big deal really.... After all, we get pretty good assam laksa back home too.. We soon found out why....

Shen, shall we make a trip to Penang just for this when you guys come back?

Piggin' Out: Penang - wantan mee

2009-04-05T00:19:00.002+08:00

Rommel still wasnt satisfied with our hawker food feasting in Penang because he'd wanted to try the Lorong Selamat char kuey teow but we'd gone and eaten at other places and so we never got round to Lorong Selamat.

So, after saying bye to Joyce and Arnaud who headed to the airport, we decided we'll finally go there to check out the most famous of char kuey teow.

We got there in decent timing, parked the car and were promptly told by the parking attendant that all the char key teow stalls there closed on Tuesdays. "WHAT???" we said disappointingly. But the attendant was nice enough to recommend the kopitiam at the corner of Lorong Selamat and Jln Macalister as he said the wantan mee there was not too bad.

Disappointed and hungry, we said okay. We'll give it a try.

First to arrive at our table was the wantan soup. (I always order wantan soup. I love dumplings and can survive on dumplings alone. It's also my benchmark for good wantan.)

My verdict: Love the wantan skin texture... soft and delicate, unlike the ones we sometimes get in KL where it's too thick and starchy. The pork and prawn fillings were crunchy, yum.

The wantan mee came next. This was a realy surprise because I've never had wantan mee like this before. The sauce wasn't the usual dark soy sauce thingy. Instead, it was light coloured, slightly starchy and laden with chee yau char (crispy pork lard). The sauce gave the noodles a nice, glossy sheen. Tasted good too with the chee yau char. Then again, anything tastes good with that! The noodles itself were nice, not too tough and chewy.

We noticed that there was a stall selling hokkien char oyster mee. We had no idea what it was and so we had to order to find out! What came looked like yellow noodles stir fried wat tan style with some oysters in it. After the delicious wantan mee, this was pretty much tasteless. I don't think I'll order this again in future...

And so, despite not having eating the Lorong Selamat char kuey teow yet again, we found something else that was pretty good too! That gives us the perfect excuse to go back to Penang, don't you think?

Piggin' Out: Penang Nasi Kandar

2009-04-05T00:07:00.003+08:00

Restaurant: Nasi Kandar Masjid Kapitan Keling
Previous review: August 2008

During our previous trip to Penang, we made our inaugural visit to this nasi kandar institution. Recommended by local Penangites, we headed towards Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling immediately after crossing the Penang bridge on a Friday night. All to dig into a plate of steaming hot rice banjir-ed in kuah campur.

So of course, we had to make at least one visit the next time we were on the island. After our pigging out dinner feast, we chatted for about an hour while letting our tummies "rest". At around 11pm, we took off from Jln Macalister. You cannot miss the long queue that forms at the side of Masjid Kapitan Keling....

We weren't actually hungry but we just had to try a bit of everything....

But like before, my favourite was the nasi kuah campur... Simple yet delicious...

Told ya I was excited about eating here.

Piggin' Out: Penang hawker food

2009-04-03T23:56:00.003+08:00

Foodie trip to Penang over the weekend with Joyce and Arnaud...

Part of our plan was to have a full-blown Penang hawker food feast (what else do you go to Penang for really??)

So we headed to the stalls along Jln Macalister near the Sunway Hotel. I'd eaten there a couple of years ago with my mom and a few clients and remembered it was pretty good.

Our dinner included....

Grilled stingray
(rather thin slice but pretty tasty)

Kam heong-style stir fried lala
(pretty good, fresh and decent portion)

Leng chee kang

Char kuey teow
(which sadly was not up to par at all)

BBQ chicken wings
(too sweet)

Pork satay
(not too bad, something we don't usually get since it's pork)

Popiah
(I thought it was too wet and so I didn't like it but it was Arnaud's second time trying it after his first time in Singapore and he said it was way better than what he had there!)

Tom yum noodles
(not too bad but I've had better ones)

LV Monogram Vernis Roses

2009-04-02T18:03:00.002+08:00

Oh dear... I can't decide whether I like this or not but I know my mom will. It's in a really nice shade of fuchsia and while I have a feeling we do have a bag in this colour (we have a whole assortment of pink bags since I absolutely love them), we do not have an LV bag this colour! Hah! Justification for a new bag perhaps?

The downside: it's an Alma (I'm talking about the name of this bag shape, in case you do not speak the LV lingo). I really definitely do not like the Alma. We have a couple of Almas and I find them so annoying to use. I always have trouble opening them and zipping them up. And you can't stuff as much things in them as you can with say, the Speedy.

Then again, my mom and I are impartial to the Speedy simply because it's so versatile and easy to flatten and pack into your luggage (very important when on a holiday, especially a shopping holiday). Infact I've just found 5 reasons to buy a Speedy bag.

Shen, what do you think? Should I make a trip to Starhill for this?

A quick one...

2009-04-01T16:47:00.003+08:00

Back from Penang yesterday....

In the office today...

And so more on Penang when I find time to upload the pictures! (Loads of food, of course!)

Joycie and Arnaud, hope you guys enjoyed Penang. Sorry we had to go round and round to find that seafood place and end up not finding it anyway!! And thank you so much for teaching me so much more about my camera.

Imagine, after more than 3 years of owning my Nikon D50, I finally got better acquainted with it over the past few days. I finally have an idea on what those funky numbers mean and how to attempt to take decent photos without flash. And, I'm finally beginning to have a better understanding of it all. Let's hope my pictures show some improvement.

Ta for now!

Interweave Crochet - Spring 2009

2009-03-26T11:59:00.003+08:00

I've been glued to the computer screen, staring at the lovely patterns in the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet. I rarely see IC magazines in bookstores in KL although I managed to buy Interweave Knits at Times in Pavilion. Am going to pop by there again today and hope that I find a copy of IC.

Here are my favourites:

Seaside throw by Rhonda Davis

Adalia tank top by Marikka Hughes

Spring Shell by Simona Merchant-Dest

Fan and Petal Necklace by Doris Chan

Snuggle Hoodie by Lisa Naskrent

Solas Caomh by Jodi Euchner

And last but not least, my favourite...
Malabrigo top by Julia Vaconsin

Time to go hunting!

Screwy internet at home

2009-03-24T11:38:00.004+08:00

I'm having issues with the Maxis broadband at home. And Ma, Rommel and I have also had issues with Maxis 3G on our phones... *pffffh* It's been unstable for weeks... Sometimes ok, sometimes really bad. As in you cant make any outgoing phone call or send any sms. So annoying!

Which then explains my inconsistent blogging of late. When internet's fine, I blog a couple of posts, when it's not, I can't do anything, can I?

So anyway, it was a busy weekend for me. I took yet another shot in my attempt to emulate the domestic goddess aka Nigella Lawson.

Our Saturday schedule:

Morning:
-Pa and Ma head to the wet market early in the morning to buy the ingredients for pan mee. I'm still in bed but I think I'm entitled to a little bit more sleep since I'm up much earlier than they are on weekdays.
-I wake up at 9am to the sound of the doorbell ringing. The RCIA volunteers arrive to help with "dressing up the teddy bears", as I call it since they were basically changing the colour scheme for over 900 bears and trimming the ribbons etc etc etc..
-Pa prepares his pan mee as the rest set off to "work". I, on the other hand, head out to do my grocery shopping since I was in charge of dinner.
-First stop: The Village Grocer at Bangsar Village where I got the steaks (3 wagyus and 3 black angus - all nice and chunky) and 10 lamb cutlets and a free range chicken and ingredients for mushroom soup and salad. Also bought the usual veggies and stuff for this week's consumption.
-Next: Cold Storage at BSC, because I couldnt find decent seafood in BV. Bought prawns (for the pan mee), cod and salmon for dinner and sh*tloads of icecream to feed everyone. I felt all eyes on me when I was carrying this whole stack of Haagen Dazs to the counter.
-Rommel and I got home in time for the pan mee lunch, for which I was grateful because I was really hungry. No wonder why I was in a cranky mood before that.

Afternoon:
-I decided that this time I wanted to prepare everything way in advance instead of rushing through it as we always do (although that's because we usually decide on these things at the last minute). So I marinated the lamb and chicken, trying to copy how Robert in License to Grill does it, ziplock bag and all.
- Next I made my garlic butter for the garlic bread and the mushroom soup. I'd finished everything at about 4pm, just in time for tea.
- So I served whoever was still in our house some soup and garlic bread. Which meant I wouldn't have enough baguette slices for dinner so we headed out again to buy more.

Evening:
- The godsiblings were supposed to arrive at ~7pm. Thank God for Malaysian timing as everyone was at least half an hour late and so my food timing turned out just right.
- I'd put the chicken in the oven at 6.15pm and let it roast for 45 mins.
- Next were the lamb cutlets which I grilled in the main oven instead of the smaller grill oven because that's where the garlic bread went into.
- At the same time, Rommel and I prepared the salad dressing (I poured the stuff in the cup, he stirred). I modified Michael Smith aka Chef at Home's recipe for this. The salad leaves were prepped and everything was tossed together just as the guests were arriving.
- After a very heavy and meaty dinner (courtesy of the juicy steaks), we sang Happy Birthday for Kok Beng and Stella. The chocolate and walnut brownie cake was of course made by Calvin and we served it with a scoop of Haagan Dazs Macadamia brittle.

So yea, that's why I always say my weekends are always busier than my weekdays.

Pictures to come. I intend to post the recipes (although I dont have any measurements for the ingredients since I just estimate everything).

A time for prayer

2009-03-20T13:47:00.003+08:00

I've been following the news on Natasha Richardson's fall and subsequent passing. My condolences go out to her family as they go through this difficult and painful time. And this has brought back memories of what happened to my mother two years ago.

My mom had a bad fall in October 2007. This resulted in a blood clot in her head which was only found during an MRI scan 3 weeks later. She had travelled to Singapore for meetings during those 3 weeks and was also on chinese herbal medication to improve her blood circulation. We will never know if any of these reasons had caused the blood clot or if they made it worse but doctors have told us that these are possible explanations since there didn't seem to be any indication of a clot earlier. She had emergency brain surgery on the day that they found it. Thankfully, in my mom's case, she has recovered and is pretty much back to her old self.

Piggin' Out: CWZJ aka Tea House

2009-03-18T15:54:00.005+08:00

Restaurant: CWZJ - Home of the Tea Kings (or more affectionately known as Tea House to my family and close friends)
Address: 8, Jalan 11/116B, Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park
Tel: 603-7981 8714
My previous posts: Dec 2007, March 2008

One my family's favourite restaurants - for its simple, home-style cooking and the great quality of ingredients used. My sis and bro usually request for this place as their first meal home after 6 months of being deprived of good food.

My dad paired the meal with a rose champagne I recently bought at the airport after my Phuket trip. I wouldn't say it went very well with the tea (we had sui xin).

For starters we had deep fried pig's large intestines.

And deep fried minced tofu cakes. Ooh I always love anything with tofu in it.

We each had a very nicely marinated pork ribm served with a mix of mayo and Chinese mustard.

We had one garoupa, cooked 2 ways..

The first was plainly steamed.... steamed fish goes well with good rice (see below for sinfully delicious rice).

And the other part of the fish was deep fried. This was because some of our guests (and my mom included) are not fond of steamed fish (what a pity I'll say but it's okay cos then it's more fish for the rest of us!).

And here comes the piece de resistance: claypot rice cooked with crispy (and very unhealthy) pork lard and a dash of soy sauce. Altogether now.... *drool*

Ooohhh my arteries.... No wonder why Pa went to do a medical test and stress test this morning. It's all due to meals like these!

The Invasion of the Teddybears

2009-03-18T15:41:00.002+08:00

Mom's been shopping again. And it's not all clothes and shoes and bags. At one of the wholesalers on Petaling Street that she usually sources her stuff from, here's the latest items to invade our home.... teddy bears...

There's more bears in much larger sizes too and even bears decked out in LV and Burberry and all bedazzled... all for a charity event that she's involved in. I can't say much cos I dont know how much I'm allowed to reveal but I will hopefully be able to post pictures of the end products. I've seen the prototypes and they are cute!

P/S: If you're wondering why I'm so free to be blogging in the afternoon, it's because I'm home sick today. The multiple-sneezing got really bad yesterday so I'd gone home to rest but I had to come back to office to listen in on a results conference call and sort some things out. This morning I woke up with a killer sore throat and killer headache to match. I've done the whole take VitC-drink lots of water-gargle with salt water-drown my misery by watching E! nonsense so I'm feeling better now. Except the headache threatens to make a comeback every few hours... ugh... this is so annoying. And I look like Rudolph on a bad day. Now let me go wallow in my misery.