Sep 30, 2008

my rendang....1st eva

my 1st ever rendang - recipe from my mum :D. buat 1/2 kilo jer. i dont really fancy rendang, prefer kuah kacang daging. tapi malas nak buat kuah kacang nak blend2 kacang semua tuh.

Sep 27, 2008

my one week planner

another year and this will be my final one...so i have made plan for my pre and post raya celebration-

saturday:
1. halal butcher
2. m'sia hall for iftar

sunday:
1. paddys (ada possibility malas. setakat nak beli udang jer....gi eastgarden jerk lah!!)
2. spring clean - the whole day of sunday will be spend throwing away all notes from previous semester (w'pun sayang nak buang) and also pre-"back-for-good" packing....wohooooo. plus i need to figure out where i should put all those hundreds pieces of corelle loose pieces...seriously i got no space.
3. assignment - will start after midnite. i can only write after midnite, too many distraction any time earlier than that

monday
1. cornflakes madu
2. call umi for recipe
3. assignment (s-d-a)

tuesday
1. main masak2c - planning to prepare kuah udang and rendang daging. 1st time nak buat ni...tak tau la jadi ker tak

wednesday
1. prayer at m'sia hall
2. sessi fotografi
3. JJCM

thursday
1. dok umah

friday
1. dok umah

sat
1. m'sia hall
2. jalan2 cari shopping mall

sun
1. JJCM the whole day

mon
1. JJCM kat randwick
2. discussionn!!!! - its a public holiday here in sydney, labour day. but me and my team decided to meet on this very day....we got final plan due in one week time. so starting this monday until the following monday....we will be tak tentu arah!!!

Sep 25, 2008

RIP my friend

1 year ago..I met with a very lovely lady in bondi...she's a branch manager for the skin clinic next door...just moved in from the States..she hangs out at our place for chit chat and coffee..She had a cat named Bill for 15yr...can't pronounce my name properly...it's either azus or zues..and I gave up correcting her.. She always screw up her pc or fax machine, so will asked me to fix it. My boss aren't too happy when i go moonlighting in another place..she insist on charging labour hour.

Last July she harassed me almost everyday for the upcoming company's ball in november....after 1 week of harassment i finally cracked...said yes...just to get rid of her..she promised to borrow me her husband tuxedo..like that gonna fit

Last month she went to vacation in phuket during..she's been going there for the umpteenth time and never got bored with the place. I tried to convince her to visit malaysia but she said the traffic is horrible..I can't defend that part..sorry Tourism Dept..anyways she fell and injured her back in phuket...came back here to do MRI and CAT scan and suppose to start working back last monday....she was on painkillers due to her back and unable to move around freely..she did drop by to our office and gave me this t-shirt...she thought I liked monkeys..coz I have another monkey suit...I mean shirt...it was XL but hey...its a gift...I gave her a fridge magnet when I went to snowy mountain back then..
On early tuesday morning..i walked into the office and Mark said..Antoinette died yesterday...I was dumbdfounded...can't believe she died....it was something abt deep vein thrombosis during her flight to and fro phuket..
Her husband have cremated her body and will be spreading her ashes in Coogee beach and the rest back to Ireland..her home country...

So i'm dedicating this entry to you...Antoinette - you're a great friend....we're gonna miss u

Sep 23, 2008

the waiting.....

i need to go out...for some beautiful view of the shopping complex....do some retail theraphy maybe...eiii...boring nyer dok umah...but i need to stay home and wait for my parcel....the agony of buying online....ahahahhaha

in abt a week we will be celebrating hari raya...mcm boring jer raya tahun ni sbb jatuh middle of the week. but still this will not stop me from my raya shopping....ahahaha...need to find a nice oblong tie rack scarf that can match my baju raya 2 tahun lepas....so bondi this thursday...but the one in chatswood lagi besor...hmmmmmmm

Sep 21, 2008

sunday update....

last update was like on wednesday....hahahha....malas plus busy wif assignment.


my sultana cake from the four ingredients book. i never had confident baking a cake....salu tak sedap. tp smalam try gak buat sbb nak abis kan sultana. tgk cake mcm tak moist apa mesti tak sedap...but i kinda like it sbb tak manis sgt mcm the usual fruit cake...eheheheh...plus it is super easy

my kuih lopes....this time buat satu cawan beras pulut jerk. nak bentuk pun elok sket la dr yg buat tahun lepas. butthis time i use frozen shredded coconut...mcm kasar2 plak

ni 2-3 hari lepas punyer menu....ayam percik kelantanese style....dry sket ayam dia. and fresh watermelon juice!!! dearrr....nanti beli tembikai lagiiiiiii

Sep 17, 2008

my overcooked egg tart wif my hideous looking kuih keria....

ni jer la keria yg ruper dia senonoh sket utk photography shoot hari ni. i dunno why my keria is so lembek....dok tambah tepung pun dok lembek jugak lagi...punyer lah susah nak bentuk. so i roger my mum and ask about it....so the conclusion is...SALAHKAN SWEET POTATOES!!! ruper nyer ada org pun dah roger my mum becoz of this same problem....so umi kata...sweet potatoes sana lain kot. ayork...mcm mana nak buat belotok ni. anyway, nanti nak try beli sweet potatoes yg yellow plak. and by the way, saya masih tak pass pass lagi nak sira keria...ahahahha



another of my fav from the bakery, portugis egg tart....terlarit sampai terovercooked my egg tart. tp belah dalam kuning elok...

and finally, boring makan nasik so today we had beef stew wif pastry....ala2 style beef pie kat dome. and seriously ppl, this beef stew is soooooo sooooo nice. first time buat and the moment we all makan...we were like.....woooooo!!! sedap nyer!!!! seriouslyyyyy!!! got this recipe from here...makaseh tuan punyer recipe.

ayorkkk...esok nak masak apa ni wehhh.....and erk...congratulations to those yg dpt boss baru...congratulations kahhhh???

my creamy corn apam balik....

how do u like ur apam balik? i prefer to have the thin, crispy and crunchy one....the one that have to be eaten immediately...if not...lembek!! but i couldnt get any recipe for that so buat je lah the usual thick one. dah dua kali buat and sangat puas hati. with lots of nuts and letak cream corn bukan setompok dua tompok but ratakan terus atas apam balik....ahahhaha. plus tabur sket milo....abis melimpah ruah my cream corn. but there is this one apam balik stall in putrajaya that sells apam balik tebal yg sedap....salu i order apam balik special that have extra cream corn. kalau tak setompok dua jer cream corn dia letak. sapa ada resipi apam balik nipis tu sila hulur2 yerrr....

pernah pegi fudcot and order portugis style fish or any types of seafood? sedap kan? so i tried preparing one yesterday....not bad eventho i miss out one of the ingredients...buah keras. so yesterday we had rice with ikan basa portugis style with mixed vege, ikan kering and the usual sambal hijooooooo

Sep 16, 2008

The waiting game



As far as I can remembered, i've been running around like a headless chicken to be somewhere..appointments..meetings..discussion..chasing for proposal..kow towing clients. Plus I really hate waiting..I can't stand when i'm ready to go out and wifey still going at it with the lipstick and stuff....whilst I loved the rushing and pushing..it did wear me out...
Anyway..since i've been here...it was the opposite. I got more downtime...more waiting...no rushing...no running except chasing my bus.
.no deadline to meet...it kinda slow and steady ride...like an old black and white movie starring audrey hepburn..full of silent moment..add to that my new found interest in photography encourage me to wait...yup waiting for the best moment to capture a picture..it was hard..coz I loved to just shoot away and hoped for the best..and kept running. I always remembered while i'm driving in KL to just stop and enjoy the view..whether a sunset or a cloud formation..but I can't coz i'm rushing to another place..now I can do it...Now I can afford to just pause..pull out the camera and shoot..where ever I want..no place i'm rushing to..it's pretty liberating...
In my previous employment..they preached abt work l
ife balance...but here..they are living it...it's a reality...I can see parents walking with kids from school, going to the park..on weekdays!...I mean how can they do it...how can they have a downtime...coz i'm betting when I get back to msia..the only downtime i'll have is when the mail server is down..

Sep 15, 2008

the final sale.....

....for me

i am sooo gonna miss this place very much....


busy confirming quantities and AUD.....huuuuu. i prepared a list from home....double check it again at the shop with the pricing and everything...once done....gave the list to the usual macho guy. he is like my personal shopping assitant for already few times....i personally pick himbecauseof his big muscle. just gave him the list and he will do the rest!!!*ija..ko perasan dak mamat macho yg muscle dia tersembul keluar tuh*. should have taken some pixs with the macho guy. no more big muscle macho guy....no more sale!! bye bye shop!!!!

anyway,mr evil just got his new macro lens. his third...or is it 4th?? so he gave me some tutorial using the new lens....eeeiiii!!! i was at school from 2 to 9...and came back home for another round of tutorial!!! andatthe moment...i dont really like it!!!

Sep 14, 2008

The beginning of the end?


Last wednesday..the world cheered and shivered for the initial testing of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)...such an expensive toy..costing near US7 billion...a circular 27 km underground tunnel or I can say lab...and pundits claiming as doomsday weapon..within couple of month..the einsteins of the world will try to imitate the big bang..the beginning of the universe...with the possibilities of creating dark matter or worm hole that can suck an entire planet...no biggie...small price to pay for science...so unless everybody has a personal space ship in the garage sitting idle..its a good time to check the fuel and warm up the engine...to the rest of us commoners...we're screwed....
And yesterday...a group of hackers managed to penetrate their systems and one step away from controlling one of the LHC systems....
Call me cynics but when men try to play god...it won't end well...many have tried...there are consequences..maybe not today..but in the near future...


Sep 13, 2008

13th of Ramadhan

i was at school today from 11 to 3. 4 hrs of discussion....very tiring indeed. miss the 3.02 bus have to wait for the next bus to the beach at 3.30. arrive home near to 4 and darling evil prepare this from the 4 ingredients book....

the original beef kofta should be in the shape of a sausage...but it is not a crime to improvise the way u like it. we had this with our sausage rolls and goreng pisang....what a combination!!!

the recipe:
1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter
2tsp of curry powder
1 egg
500g lean beef mince

warm peanut butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds to soften. mix in curry powder and egg. add to mince and combine. roll mixture into sausage shapes using 1/2 cup of mixture for each kofta. grill or bbquntil cooked.

Sep 12, 2008

yesterday and today....

when i said i'm not good at preparing tradisional foods...this includes capati. i have to lipat my capati before amik gambor sbb my capati tak betol2 bulat...dah canai elok2 bila nak amik masuk pan terus jadi bentuk octagon lah hektagon lah. oh did i mention my 1st capati masuk tong sampah....tragis sangat!!!


i am more to western....lupa daratan sangat kan. my custard puffs....custard ada lebih hari tu....letak brown sugar and masuk oven bagi dia caramelised. i am sooo gonna miss the instant puff pastry here in sydney...mcm2 boleh buat


ni kalau umi tengok ni mesti dia kagum i pandai kelim karipap. this is for the whole gang at histoderm. almost every week mesti derang pepare something to bring to the office and without fail mesti diaorang tapaukan utk i jugak. and they really do respect our do's and dont's...like one time on my birthday, arlyn baked this one very delicious chocolate cake yg tak guna flour. supposedly kena letak liqour tp dia tak bubuh but still sedap giler. dulu i plan nak buat nasi lemak but mr evil kata leceh nak bawak. other than that i dunno what else to prepare because like i mention before....i am more to western so kuih2 tradisional ni mmg out. so instead i tempah 50 bijik karipap....opsssssssssss




as for today, makan nasi with ayam goreng, ikan kering, labu masak lemak and sambel hijooo. very delicious sambal hijo beli kat pondok buyong. bila rajin i amik gambar.

p/s: huwargghhhh....esok ada discussion from 11 until tak tau la kol baper

di hari yg mulia ini....

ambik berkat hari jumaat disaat mereka2 mengabaikan saya tatkala rancak bercerita tentang tarikh confirmation masing2, maka saya telah mengambil tindakan drastik untuk menghubungi pihak2 yang berkenaan.......

not sure whether it is a good news or not....only time will tell

but at the moment...it is a relief!!!!


this pix utk jamu mata org2 kat perth. this is from my brother's camera. introducing mat rapper generasi baru (ke elvis presley??) dgn pyjamas thomas


Sep 11, 2008

Food snapping

We love to take pics of our food...even when eating out..ppl would look weird on us for food fetish..but who cares...we paid for the food..we bloody can do wateva we want with it...
Anyways just read a news today abt the benefit of taking pictures of ur food before stuffing it in the face...though might not work...especially for me..but its worth a try...so ppl...let's take those pretty pic

photographing meals could help weight loss

10th of Ramadhan

my very own roti john. if only i knew that preparing this meal is that easy...dah lama i buat. got the recipe from here. letak plenty of meat unlike some PARAM stall yg letak telur semata. but still it is not as good as roti john unan kat tmn warisan. mr evil kata ni leh bawak jamu budak2 kat opis and when they ask what is this? kata this is john's bread. knowing his officemate, surely they will ask back....why is it called john's bread? and it makes me wonder too....apsal nama dia roti john erk??


my mee bandung....below my expectation. terkurang udang kering kot

hari ni nak try buat capati plak....ada org dah demand2 dari kemarin. smalam dah call umi and ask her about the recipe....but knowing umi's style of cooking u wont be getting any exact measurement of everything. once a great cook, will always be a great cook. jgn kata capati, buat kuih makmur or kuih siput pun takdak measurement. bila la i nak terror mcm tu. anyway, sempat gak tanyer a few other recipes....next on list will be belotok and cucuq keria. belotok - buruk jer kan nama...but dont judge a kueh by its name. smalam dah beli 1kg of mince beef for this purpose. but of course tak guna semua. skang ni daging cincang is a must in our freezer. mcm2 boleh guna. pre-cooked it with black pepper and soy sauce with lot of diced onions and masuk freezer. org kedah nyer inti karipap rasa nyer mmg mostly cenggini.

p/s: smalam kat SBS ada half an hr documentary on DSAI, sungguh memalukan knowing that ppl from other countries are actually watching this. not good for foreign investment. and KJ...buruk nyer berjambang mcm tu.

Sep 9, 2008

9th Ramadhan

one fine day (many many days ago), mr evil came home with a recipe on a piece of paper. arlene gave it to him suggesting the recipe for us to try. it is Lebanese Nut Rice. it is a popular accompaniment to all kinds of roasts but it is especially good with roast lamb. but we had it without any roasted lamb....there's already lots of lamb mince in the rice itself. so today, while i was busy at school doing my draft paper for submission this monday, mr evil at home started doin the chicken stock and 'sauteing' the onions and lamb mince. he passed the baton the moment i reached home....and presenting...our lebanese nut rice

supposedly we have to fry all the nuts until golden brown tp i prefer mine dark brown (alasannnn terlebih goreng)

olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
150g lamb mince
650g rice
1 litre chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
salt & pepper

to serve:
80g pine nuts
80g pistachio nuts
80g blanched whole almonds
olive oil
fresh corriander
ground cinnamon

heat the oil in a large heavy-based pot and saute the onion and lamb for abt 5 minutes, until onions is soft and the meat has browned. add the rice and boiling chicken stock. turn the heat down to simmer, add cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. cook until rice is tender.

fry the nuts separately in the olive oil until golden brown. to serve, turn the rice out and sprinkle with nuts, garnish with corriander and dust lightly with cinnamon.

of course we didnt follow exactly as per the instruction. masak jer dalam rice cooker. and we didnt have any ground cinnamon to complete the meal. but it turns out sedap!! we highly recommend this to all lamb lovers....


and we had bread pudding wif custard for our dessert. recipe custard ikut belakang kotak jerk.

p/s: teringat kat roti john tmn warisan, so esok nak buat roti john lah!!!

Sep 8, 2008

setoopid 5double04

5double04 is one big final project for MCom and must be taken at the final sem of your studies. i've been hearing abt how disorganize the course is since last semestewr despite it being the biggest and most important course in order for you to graduate (except if u get an exemption for it or u REJECTED THE EXEMPTION!!!).

And now i am experiencing it myself....how could a lecturer be so disorganized for this kind of course. lecturer's objective and client's objective is totally different. 1st you want this and now at this stage at week 7...i repeat week 7 u said u want it like this. and u even came in 1hr late after the client just because u need to send ur wife to the airport. i mean...hellloooo!!! taxi takdak kaa?? my govt is paying the school fees (read:your salary!!!) and i got this kind of boosit from u??!!

tensen nyer esok ada discussion lagi

another round of manic monday

mcm biasa...manic monday. had discussion later at 1 then continue wif class from 2-5. supposedly client is coming over today...so each group got say around 10mins of personal Q&A session with him. then had 1 hr break before next class at six. huwarghh....hari ni bukak pose kat univ. mr evil bukak pose sensorang kat umah. i have already cooked him nasi impit wif my faveret ayam masak kicap serai. plus tuna puffs.

last saturday we went to the halal butcher in eastlakes and bought some briyani spices. jakun jugak masuk butcher tuh. i even bought a kilo of atta flour...kononnnyerr nak buat capatii. cicah ngan kuah sardin...perghhh. no pix of our berbuka pose that day...makan kat luar...SUPER DUPER DELICIOUS....setahun lebih tak pekena.....heaven on earth!!! then on sunday went to the city to buy some stuffs....i dodnt manage to get what i'm planning for but instead settle it with something else...haiyork. wanted to tapau nan and tandoori chicken tp ada org tu taknak. so setel semua went back home around 1 plus....then ZZZzzzzZZZzzz land. bangun dah lewat kelam kabut masak mee ntah papeee.....kan senang kalau beli tandoori. end up mlm tu perut masuk angin and abis muntah segala tok nenek mee.

Sep 7, 2008

New trick for an old dog

Finally, after months of trial and error...or should i say try and error..i managed to capture motion..or the correct term...panning shot...I always end up with over exposure or blurry subject..but after reading up photography forums...i managed to figure out to utilise 50% of my dslr capabilities.. and one of them is called Auto Focus - Continous (AF-C)...hehehe..this what happened when men dun read manual...

Anyway..the whole idea was to capture moving object with blurred background..to give impression of movement...no photoshop intervention...


Audi A3 - 1st success!



Porsche Cayenne - 2nd successful capture but shot too soon..


Not sure wat type of car...maybe Kia or Hyundai....

Now, i'm obsessed with moving object..cars...bikes...joggers...woof woof

Sep 5, 2008

5th Ramadhan

we had sambal daging wif telor plus sup cendawan and kentang. didnt take any pix of the soup...

and mini hotdog bbq pizza

Sep 4, 2008

4th Ramadhan

sejak dpt the offer letter, ada org tuh tiba2 tekak western....so instead of having daging kicap, dia nak makan ayam bakar.


so we had ayam bakar+jagung rebus+salad+garlic bread as our main meal. plus jam tarts for dessert

pink or white?

now, let see....shud i go for this...



or this one


the white one nampak lagi classy. but the pink one is better in terms of value for money (inclusive with wallet). cuma one think dia takdak that dangling2 thing...ntah apa nama mcm kat bawah ni



selamatkan lah saya dari ebay!!!!!

Sep 3, 2008

3rd Ramadhan

the cucuq udang utara style makan ngan kuah pecal readymade. byk membazir...hahhaa....kenyang makan nasi ayam. anyway, i am so impress wif bancuhan cucuq udang itu the moment buh dalam kuali terus dia membesar bagai johan. resipi? sila google "cucur udang rangup"....got it from yani's fav website - recipe@mesranet.


resipi nasi ayam madu is from here. i prepared my sambal cili using sos cili thai + cili api + halia + bwg putih + sikit sup ayam = masuk food processor....and zretttttttttttt.

as for kuih yg jolie kata polka dot tuh...it is actually Mars Bar Slice from my currently fav book.
recipe:
3 mars bars
4tbs butter plus a lil extra for greasing
4 cups rice bubble (i use 3 instead sbb evil deary bought puffed rice yg size dia double the size of rice bubbles)

melt mars bar and butter in microwave. then, add puffed rice and mixed well. press into lightly greased tray. masuk fridge. siap!! easy....chewy and taste something like kek batik!

friday ada submission so thursday masak sempoi jer la.
1. daging kicap
2. sayur cendawan
3. jam tarts
sliced mars bar tuh pun ada byk lagi.

Sep 2, 2008

2nd ramadhan...

didnt do much today. went to uni to collect mr evil's licence translation and then singgah oriental shop to get biji selasih...but out of stock!!! there goes my sirap selasih. wanted to get some laici and longan dalam tin....baca expiry date lama lagi end of 2009. tp siap ada tulis date packed which is in 2006...i was like...erkkkkkkkk....giler lama. mmg mcm tu ke? before this never even bother pun nak baca date packed. so i just put it back on the shelf....seriously....2006 is wayyyy too long for me. daun kucai pun dah abis kat kedai..malas nak lintas jalan and get it at another shop so just settle it with one pack of bean sprouts. i dont like bean sprouts...leceh ok nak buang satu2 ekor dia.....

reach home near to 2 and start doin my business in the kitchen. char kuew tiow with lots and lots of udang and kerang...ntah apa rasa tak tau lah. then i baked this fish cocktail...a recipe i got from this one book i just bought few days ago....4 ingredients. i bought both books. mmg super duper easy recipe dia...exactly 4 ingredients with just few lines of instructions. sista, u shud check out this book. and let morgan do the cooking...ihihihih

i made the fish cocktail because i have some leftovers cornflakes from mainah recent visit. very easy...potong isi ikan in cubes....golek atas tepung...golek atas putih telur and last golek kat cornflakes crumbs. then bakar. rasa tak tau la mcm mana....but plan nak cicah ngan thai sweet chilli sauce.

and finally, ntah apa recipe i rekacipta using leftover sardines ngan roti....lagi sejam lagi ni.

p/s: tgh goreng kuew tiow tadi teringat plak kat cucur udang crunchy kat PARAM AS...dah google recipe...so esok nak buat cucur udang plak.

the final first ramadhan in sydney....

this will be our final ramadhan here in sydney....InsyaAllah (wink). and since monday is a full day class...i decided to ponteng my evening class....ehehhee. i had discussion at 1 so before heading to uni...goreng the ever crunchy tempe, marinate some sotong and masak nasi. finish my lecture at near to 3 then pi oriental shop to buy some groceries.

back home, mr evil dah start masak his favorite bawang kicap. arrived home around 5 and immediately bakar sotong (nasib baik ade abg george foreman) and buat pengat pisang.....bukak pose here in sydney is at 5.38pm ;)

hari ni ingat nak buat kuew tiow goreng mamak style...akibat teringat2 kuew tiow abg megat masa m'sia fest baru ni

Sep 1, 2008

the girl who got stuck in between...

its her final nite at my place and she was climbing...jumping..re-arranging the cushion at the sofa...and suddenly..."stuck....stuckk....stuckkk". not sure how she get herself stuck in that small space between the sofa and wall. maybe she's trying to do some experiment masuk celah tu and trying to climb back again to the sofa....ahahha...it is so freaking funny seeing her crying and yelling "stuckk...stuckk...stuckkk". we even let her 'stuck' for a lil while longer so that we can take this precious pix.