Let's Get Eggy
Last year, during our annual office Christmas game of 'Guardian Angel/Mortal', I wrote a request to my GA to get me some very kawaii-looking egg moulds. I actually read about the cute moulds from AutumnMoth, and thought it was such a novel idea! Darn those Japanese inventors :P I curse them for making such cute stuff which people cannot resist LOL!

So after 7 months (and I've actually given up on looking for them moulds in PJ), my GA left 4 very colourful and cute egg molds on my office desk one fine morning. Turns out, he had enlisted the help of another GA for this task, harhar! And this GA found the molds in good ol' Ipoh~

Kawaii-looking moulds...!

1-2-3-4!

And thus the experiment "let's make funny eggs" began. First, we boiled some eggs. Hubby figured the eggs should be piping hot in order for the mould to shape the eggs, so you can imagine us juggling to peel the shells of the hot eggs :P After you peel the egg, place it inside the mould. You would think the egg would burst once you close the lid, but it didn't.

Fish in the water~

Next, place the mould into a tub of ice water, for about 2 to 3 minutes. After that, I opened the mould and guess what... the shape didn't really turn out nicely HAHAHHAHAHAHAAH!!! I think my eggs weren't big enough. Waitaminit, that didn't come out right LOLOLOL. Lesson learnt: Use large eggs :P


I tried again with the rest of the moulds, hoping at least one would turn out ok, hehe.


The poot-poot car mould came out the best looking egg. See the define shape of the car? Cute leh? The rest of them didn't quite get the mould shape too well, eggs weren't big enough. I'll get larger eggs next time to experiment again. In the mean time...

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM~~~!!!

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Garbage Enzyme - Part 3
We left the enzymes to ferment for over 3 months, harhar! Yesterday, we filtered the enzyme and this is the result we got:


A brownish liquid, smelling sourish, with a tinge of tangerine + orange + lemon. We have 2 1.5litre bottles of this enzyme right now, and I will attempt to use it during my house chores sessions (i.e: mopping the floor, wiping the shelves). Let's hope this thing is beneficial, especially in keeping insects out.

Read about Part 1, Part 2 and the benefits.

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... Just Want To get To Know You Better
Hubby and I caught this on radio this morning. The deejays were asking callers to give their input about this morning's topic: Would you give your social networking sites like Facebook, Youtube etc, login & password, just to get a job?

The reason the deejays brought this up was, apparently some company in the US of A require their job applicants to provide all the login IDs and password to whatever social networking site they're part of. The reasoning was, so that the employers can "get to know" their potential employees better (and possibly, filter out all the psychos?). In short, background checks.

I didn't catch the whole episode, but so far the callers that called up thought the whole idea of giving out your logins & passwords just for a job was ridiculous, not to mention an infringement of personal privacy. I mean, if an employer were to ask me "Hey, can you give us access to your Facebook/Youtube etc account? We just wanna check you out, you know. Get to know you a little better."... I would think this guy/company had one too many drinks.

Some things are personal, and I think to a lot of people, sites like Facebook is quite personal to a certain extent. You want to know me better, add me as a friend. Why do you need access to it? What if you rearrange everything and edit my personal info? What if you impersonate me and say nasty things to my friends?

Many years ago, I was at this job interview somewhere in PJ. The manager was asking me the usual questions like what are your skill sets, what's your plan in the next 5 years etc. Typical job interview questions la. But slowly, his questions started getting personal. He started asking me what my family does, what are my siblings studying, why didn't I go to university while my sisters went, what is your boyfriend doing etc etc. Questions which I felt were totally unrelated to the job I was interviewing for. So I questioned this guy, and told him, dude, how is this relevant to this job interview? (I didn't say dude of course, but that's how it would sound like in casual talk, haha!). He replied "Oh, just want to get to know you better."

Crap. You think I'll fall for that line?

Some employers are really crossing the line when they ask personal questions like I encountered, and honestly, I have every right not to answer them. I believe that when a person is here for an interview, isn't it more important to know the person's skill sets and experiences first and how they can contribute to the positive growth of the company, rather than dig into his/her personal profile? You can always do background checks using other methods, you don't have to question them during interviews, right?

Maybe is a person is here to fill some really really high ranking position, like the President of the country or something, then it makes sense to dig his/her profile up. What say you?

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Endorsements
The other day, I took a walk down to the hair salon just downstairs at the condo I live in , to get a hair cut. With the hot weather upon us, my locks were irritating me, so I needed to hack some off. As usual, I was told to take a seat and wait a while, as the hair dresser was attending to another customer (a middle-age aunty, who was having her hair dyed).

While flipping through some magazines, I overheard the conversation between the aunty and the hair dresser (in Cantonese). She was commenting on celebrities and ad endorsements.

Aunty: Aiyaaaa, why all these brands always use all the pretty pretty people wan? They are oredi pretty, no point use them to endorse all these brands oso laaaaa!

Hair dresser: Is liddat wan la, aunty... *continues to apply hair colour onto hair*

Aunty: Aiyaaaa, no point la. They oredi so pretty. Should use normal people maaaa. They so pretty, use whateva oso pretty laaaaa....! You see you see! Where they got scars and spots on their face wan?!? Only old people got such things wan maaaa. Young peeper their face where got such thing wan?!? Summore now dat brand ah, Ali Cafe... Now sign dat Lam Fong in their ads. Aiyooo, so much money to hire such peeper. Kopi only maaaa, all of them taste the same wan laaaaa. Summore this type of kopi, where got nice wan?!? Kenot compare with those oliginal kopi made by those Hainan peeper laaaa....!

I was sitting on the next chair, listening quietly and smickering to myself the whole time (while pretending to flip the pages of the magazine). She was went on and on about celebrity endorsements and how "normal people" should be hired to do such endorsements, because celebrities are already so famous and pretty, hence they're not the right people to endorse products/brands.

Maybe this aunty was hoping the brands would pick her to endorse their product *shrugs*.

Aunty, had they used your face as the face of Ali Cafe, the company can chap larp wei... No offense, but really. There's a reason why brands pick young, good looking faces to endorse their brands. To build the consumer confidence in the brand and product. If the brand/product were to just use any Tom, Dick, Harry or Sally out there, it may not be well suited for the image, kan? People might just say "Who is this fella ahhhhh?". Aunty might just say "Lee gor mutt sui lei gaaaaa...? Suun tak gor mou gaaaa...?" (who is this fella, can trust or not?).

Oh, I walked out of the salon with a nice hair cut too :)

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Escalator Yo-Yos
A group of us were waiting just outside Sushi Zanmai @ 1Utama recently (waiting for our tables to be ready). So while queuing up, talking cock and watching the world go by, we caught sight of 2 ladies pushing a trolley each, with their shopping items overflowing. Must have been a real sale at Home's Harmony, judging by the number of pillows and other items they bought.

The 2 ladies were definitely not from around here (Malaysia), very likely from a nation now popularly associated with black money. Both of them stood in front of the escalator, trying to figure out how to get the trolleys down to the lower floor. They were speaking to each other in their native language, cracking jokes and such, when suddenly, one of them pushed the trolley she was holding, closer to the escalator.

We were just staring at them, and were really puzzled by their act. I mean, come on! Use the elevator! She let out a scream and held the trolley back, and her friend cracked into laughter. By then, everyone was just looking at them. We figured after the little scare, they would wise up and just find an elevator. But NO. The first lady tried her luck again, and guess what happened next. The trolley caught on to the escalator going downwards, she screamed and panicked and let go of the trolley (see #Illus 1).

#Illus 1

Of all the stupid things to do, you tried to push a fully loaded trolley down a moving escalator!!!! Have you no common sense at all?!?!?! It was a good thing the trolley didn't topple over, as there were people in front using the escalator too!!!! What was going through that skull of that woman, we really don't know. But she was thiiiiisssss close to injuring (maybe even killing) someone.

Soon after, her friend decided to pull the exact same stunt! She inched the trolley slowly to the tip, the trolley gradually tipped forward, and started moving downwards. And she just held on to the trolley tightly and went down with it. Fortunately for her friend, the trolley didn't tip forward also. I really dread to think what may have happened, should the trolley tip forward.

Soon after, we had our filling dinner (thanks to a generous friend, haha!), we hung around just outside Sushi Zanmai while a few friends paid a visit to the washroom. This time, we saw a man attempting to push a trolley full of groceries up the escalator (see #Illus 2). With him was his wife, and she was carrying their newborn. He was already midway up the escalator, lifting the trolley up to balance it on the escalator steps, while the wife was carrying the baby in one hand, and the other hand was holding on to the trolley handle.

#Illus 2

Like, what is wrong with these people? The elevator was invented for a reason, use it!!!! Attempting to push trolleys with full loads up and down the escalator is sheer madness, not to mention dangerous! Plus it's clearly written on the signboards, no trolleys beyond this (escalator) point!

There were a few other people behind this couple. When their trolley reached the top, the whole trolley toppled over because there's this little step which the trolley wheels cannot go over (see #Illus 3). So yes, their groceries fell out and the trolley blocked the walkway. The people behind them helped out the couple to gather all their groceries and lifted the trolley up. So mensiasuikan Malaysians saje.

#Illus 3

In both cases, they were fortunate to escape possible injuries (to themselves and/or to other people). But this is exactly how accidents happen. Accidents which clearly can be prevented, but totally ignored because of stupidity and ignorance.

Moral of the story:
1) Use the elevator when necessary.
2) Use your brains, failing which, it will become redundant and useless.
3) Use your common sense, if any. If not, don't attempt to walk out of your house alone.
4) If you attempt any of the moves stated above, then you deserve to be called an idiot.

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Random Conversation
After a heavy meal with some friends earlier that night...

*pat pat pillows*

Oli: ... bla bla bla... buuurrrrppp~

Hubby: .... -_-" Thank you arrr....

Oli: Hey, I have a colleague that burps in office...!

Hubby: Do you burp in the office?

Oli: Nope!

Hubby: Thanks for giving it to me. I'll repay you back ya! *laughs*

A few seconds later...

Hubby: BuuuUUUrrrRRRppppPPP~~~

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New Beggar's Chicken @ Ijok
First, don't ask me how to get there LOL! Hubby and I followed my parents to Ijok over the weekend, to try their famous beggar style dishes. It was a pretty long drive, almost an hour, passing palm oil estates and small town roads. Just goes to show for food, Malaysians are willing to go to the ends of the Earth!

New Beggar's Chicken Restaurant exterior.

The restaurant is located amidst some plantation, so you can't see it from the main road at all. There's a left turning somewhere (again, don't ask me where!), but I do remember seeing a few signboards bearing the restaurant name just as we made that left turn. A short drive in and we've arrived.

The other wing of the restaurant.

The trunk road just outside the restaurant.

Judging by the number of cars on parked along side of the road, you know this place is very popular among locals from afar. That's just one side of the street by the way.

The restaurant menu.

The restaurant's specialty is none other than their beggar style dishes. Beggar chicken, beggar duck, beggar pig's trotter and beggar glutinous rice are some of the popular dishes. You can also opt for the set, which serves 10 pax. My dad says the set menu is way too much for 10 pax, because the beggar style dishes are so filling (you get the chicken, duck, pig's trotter and glutinous rice, along with other dishes like seafood), you'd have to take away a lot of the leftovers.

While munching on the prawn crackers (every table gets 2 packets of crackers, chargeable at RM 2/packet), I surveyed the restaurant a little. Besides the beggar style dishes, a lot of other patrons also ordered several types of seafood dishes like fish, crabs and squid. The beggar style dishes were definitely a must-have, as I saw every table had them.

Item #6 is the famous 'Monk jump over the wall' soup :P

My dad had called ahead to make reservations for some of the dishes, due to the crowd this restaurant receives over the weekend. He had pre-ordered the beggar duck (which he said was better than the chicken), beggar pig's trotter and beggar glutinous rice. When we arrived there, he ordered 2 more plates of vegetables, pig's maw soup and a plate of deep fried sotong. He also placed an order for fish head curry, but mid-way we were told they ran out of fish head, which was good news to us because we were really stuffed!

Beggar pig's trotter, sinful~~~

I only managed to take one photo of the beggar style dishes, because everyone was pretty hungry and dug in straight!!!! All the beggar style dishes were served in an aluminum foil, piping hot. The pig's trotter was soft and yummy, and was served with some yam cubes too. I'm not much of a yam fan, but the pork was nicely done. Very sinful indeed~

The beggar duck was nice too, almost boneless, which makes it really easy to eat. The meat was so tender, you practically need no effort to rip the meat apart. If you had the dish with white rice, the sauce would be a really good combination.

The beggar glutinous rice could really make you feel full really fast! Hence , I only had a few spoons of it, also because my stomach can't take too much glutinous rice, it gives me indigestion. But the rice was donely really nicely and was full of flavour from the pork, black mushrooms and duck egg!

Pig's maw soup.

The pig's maw soup was served in an old-style claypot, which reminded of the olden days where people would boil Chinese medicinal herbs in. The soup had a generous helping of pig's maw and black fungi, yummy yum! I love pig's maw soup, particularly the peppery soup. It's a good soup to drink, especially on a rainy day (much like tom yam soup and BKT soup). As we drank the soup by the spoonful, we could feel the peppery sensation building up. Syok!

As for the deep fried sotong, it's a nice side dish to have, haha! Nothing to really shout about la.

We were full to the brim from all the food, and had a lot of Chinese tea to wash everything down. The bill came up to RM 180++ for 8 pax.

Dessert!

While driving back, my sister had a sudden craving for durian, so my dad stopped by Kampung Subang for a while, and we savoured a few kampung durians for dessert :P Buuuurrrrppp~~~

Ijok is just so far, I don't know if I want to make the trip back there XP If you want to make a journey there, try looking at this site for GPS coordinates.

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Kushi Q @ Tropicana City Mall
About a week ago, I received this SMS from DiGi, a promotional SMS for DiGi subscribers. The offer was valid at Kushi Q, and I was entitled to a whopping 50% off their chicken and beef skewers for the month of June 2009. I told hubby about it, and he said ok, we'll just go check the place out and try some of their skewers.

The exterior of Kushi Q.

Kushi Q is located on the lower ground floor of Tropicana City Mall, the same floor where Carrefour is located. This little outlet specialises in Japanese grilling.

Kushi Q's menu.

Some of the chicken skewer selections from Kushi Q.

Prices are pretty reasonable for skewers here. Pictures are always enticing, hehe! Most of the skewers come in 2 or 3 variants of spices used to cook it, so you can pick and choose and try all the flavours if you like. We picked 4 skewers to try:

1) Chicken breast, wasabi flavour (RM 2 /stick).
2) Chicken thigh with capsicum, Thai flavour (RM 2 /stick).
3) Chicken thigh with leek, teriyaki flavour (RM 2 /stick).
4) Beef and pineapple (RM 2 /stick).

Some of the sets available from Kushi Q.

While waiting for our skewers to come, I flipped through the menu to see what other choices were available. Kushi Q also offers set meals, and their prices were quite reasonable as well. You can choose from the different sets available, and details for each set is also stated, so you can expect what to get out of your meal.

The 4 skewers we ordered to try.

The skewers were piping hot when they arrived, but it's always best to eat grilled skewers when they're hot. The first skewer I picked up was the chicken with leek (teriyaki flavour). I thought the flavour was so-so only. Hubby tried the chicken breast first, and said the combination of wasabi and teriyaki was a little weird. I took a bite of the chicken breast and I concur, the combination did taste a little weird :P

The beef skewer was so-so as well, nothing to really shout about. We both agreed that the chicken with capsicum (Thai flavour) was the best among all 4 skewers. The spices used was nicely done, and left my tougue with a tangy spicy feeling.

A close-up shot of the chicken with capsicum (Thai flavour) skewer.

And since I was entitled to the 50% discount, the 4 skewers only cost us RM 4.25, hehe! I guess the skewers were pretty ok for a light snack.

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Right Click > Delete
I had been feeling under the weather over the past weekend. Emotions had been running high, I've been feeling moody and just want to be left alone. Couple of times, the emotions got too overwhelming and caused hubby and me to get on each others' nerves.

Sometimes I wish there is an option in my life, where I can delete certain memories. "Right click > Delete > Right click Trash Bin > Are you sure you want to delete these items > Yes".

Time to look for some comfort food~

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