The past few days

'Sai yong choi' (watercress) soup boiling in the pot.
Fresh brinjals for the belacan sambal.

French beans with potatoes and sambal fish.

And i finally conquered my fear of deep-frying. After much pestering from hubby, and a phonecall to my mom and SIL, i decided to give it a try. It wasn't as bad as i initially thought. It being deep-frying. But i think the sizzling and popping effect are much worse for fish. And it is no consolation that fried fish is hubby's fav! I will definitely try the next round.

Hubby's piece waiting patiently to be devoured.

A simple dish of black pepper french beans, thanks to the LKK black pepper sauce.

Pongteh and fish kari

My first pongteh. It tasted pongteh-gy although the tauchew is of a different type. Points to note: the colour was a bit too dark and it should have been more watery (the consistency was like that of 'ark sioh').
My first (yet another) fish curry (thanks to MIL's recipe). As i was cooking, hubby said it smelt like when his mom cooked it. It better be cos i used the same curry powder! It wasn't too bad for a first timer. A bit spicy due to the extra ginger. Then only ada oomph!
Of course it wasn't the perfect fish curry. Somehow the fishes were in bits and pieces. Probably cause i stirred around a little too much. Next time i shall use the wok instead of the pot. And i shall add in more water as i like my curry to have more gravy.

Nyonya fare

We went peranakan today. Tried chap chye and tempra fish. Yes, these are nyonya dishes in case you are wondering. All thanks to mom's recipe :D

My first chap chye. Should have added in less water but the extra didn't compromise the taste though. Mine didn't have the red bean curd and glass noodles.

Tempra fish. The limes used were different from back home. So next time must remember to use only two limes or else it'll be too limey. But it still tasted right! hihi! Meat can also be used with this recipe.

Day two in London

Today is the day we go separate ways and do the things that we like. Hubby dear will be off to catch his live footie game while yours truly will be willing her time away at Oxford St and its nearby streets muahaha!!!

Courtesy of samsung kick-off.

Outside our hotel. Not the best but decent enough.

The irritating thing here is that shops are not opened as early as back home, especially on a Sunday where most of the shops are only open from 12 noon (till about 5-6pm). Imagine that. So much precious time was wasted.

So here we are walking around deserted shopping streets and snapping away.

A street sign. Street signs seemed to be more fascinating in foreign countries.

We were spoilt for choice on which play to watch.

Shopping..

.. and more shopping!

Foreground: hubby dear posing at the entrance of the Oxford Circus tube Station. Background: UCB... massive!

More shopping at Carnaby Street. Stumbled upon Benefit here.

Radley at Molton Street. Can you spot the little doggie?

After a full day out shopping and watching football, we met up with Joanne for dinner at a local English cafe. Above is the appetiser of wholemeal loaves with butter, salt and pepper.

I chose the beef steak.

Hubby dear picked the burger. It was nice catching up with Joanne and meeting her friend.

Later that night I was busy unpacking my buy. Bought some stuff from Primark (decided to spend some time there upon Evelyn's suggestion). The clothes there are quite affordable (in other words = cheap lar). More so when they are having a promotion. It was like pasar malam when I was there, almost like when mng is having its sales.

Today's menu

Darling simply loves today's menu :D

Kangkung sambal belacan. It was nice with enough spiciness but still lacking in something. Probably due to no dried prawns. Belum beli lar.
This is mom's recipe, oyster sauce chicken. My version has more veggies. Quite impressed with how it turned out but probably should have put in more ginger slices.

Bel's bday pressie

So what did mommy and daddy got their little angel for her first birthday? Well, parents being parents and being their usual practical self, they decided to get Annabel a walker! Firstly, she doesn't seem to really appreciate toys yet (she seems to be amused with practically anything from wrappers to empty containers etc so we can definitely save some money there for the time being at least). Plus she does NEED a walker although there isn't much space to walk around. It's more so that mommy can do her cooking and stuff when Annabel's in the mood and agrees to be put in the walker. Yes, she is the big boss around here.

What's for dinner?

2nd April 2009, Thursday...

Spinach soup. Not really hubby's favourite but it's HEALTHY!
Steamed fish with ginger and garlic. A bit salty. Probably shouldn't have rubbed salt on the fish.

The start of my culinary adventure

My second go at masala tea. The trick is one part milk and two parts water, and of course the spices!
Annabel's bday misua. She loved it.

Tou miao with spiced beancurd.
Baked fish?

Steam fish ala ikan bakar. Thanks to the sambal paste mom got me! Yumm..

First HK outing

28th March 2009, Saturday...

Waiting for the bus to take us to the MTR station. Then taking the train straight to IKEA hihi..
A quick stop for tea before heading back home.

Butter and sweetened milk on toast

Chilli pork and egg on toast

Milk tea (left) and jasmine tea (right). The former is a disappointment. One's expectation is high when one is in HK!!!

Day one in London

All excited waiting for the train to take us to Paddington St. My first trip to a mat-salleh country. Of course excited!
View from the train.. moments before the first drop..

Paddington St is only a walking distance away from our hotel.

Our first meal there. A McD's breakfast. No chilli sauce though.

After breakfast we took the tube and did some walking to Madame Tussauds. We arrived before it opened so we did like what most tourists would do - walked around and snapped around.

Sherlock Holmes and me

The much talked about big bus company. No we didn't go on it this time.

The red british phone booth.

The royal academy of music. Obviously.

And finally, Madame Tussauds!

The second drop took place inside MT (yes, of all places), just when we were posing with the Beckhams. Yes, a typical case of sudah jatuh ditimpa tangga. It really 'made' my day. The disposable cameras did not provide much consolation (most of the pictures taken indoor were not clear). And it didn't help that we used it mostly in MT!!!

The Queen and I. This one was taken with my trusted hp.

After MT, i knew i just had to get a new camera. So off we went to Jessops (a camera speciality shop, thanks to Raymond's recommendation) somewhere near Oxford St (i think). Maybe the accidental drops were blessings in disguise, as i would like to think that i had a good deal with my new cool-red coolpix. Now i could really start to enjoy my holiday!

Later, after more walkings and searchings, we managed to find our way to a sports cafe to catch that eventful football match. Yes, there are no mamaks with big screen to catch ur footie live. Luckily we didn't stay on for the second half of the game (no need for explanations) as we had a house warming gathering to attend. Yes, we just couldn't neglect our social duties..