New Birthday New Beginnings

Many things have happened in the past 6 months. In my circle of good friends, our gatherings have been marred by a glaring absence until our two gatherings in March. The first one was about 3 weeks ago, where we celebrated Shin Yen's (belated) birthday and one 4 days ago where we threw Jeremy a (supremely belated) birthday party. I'm just so glad to see Sheau Ching returning to join us in our birthday rituals. Hey, next celebration will be his birthday!

A delightful birthday cake to celebrate Shin Yen's birthday! Wishing that this year will bring her better days and a speedy recovery for her beloved hubby!


Hmmm....i wonder what's in there? Actually we gave her a little lunch bag cos she always carries her handbag to lunch with her colleagues, so a little lunch bag would be a good change, it also comes with a set of matching necklace and earrings.

Hey Sheau Ching, say cheese!

Eventhough Sheauching was back to joining us, there were several absence haha...so it wasn't full attendance at this birthday party... such a shame...

It's Harvest Time

The school holidays has just come to an end. I bet Lele had lots of fun this March holidays. After all, it was harvest season just last week in Kuantan. What goodies did he manage to bag as a warm-up to Easter ?

Looks like these jambu are ripe and ready to be picked! Wow, looks so juicy and mouth-watering, begging to be eaten...

How many men does it take to harvest our jambu? The answer is 2! One to pick and the other to pose for cameras!

Oh my oh my, will you take a look at the bursting basket? They are like the sweeter version of strawberries and juicier, albeit uglier.

These are the mung beans Lele was so carefully nurturing for a meal at the end of his visit. Throughout the days he was in Kuantan, he was given a duty to make sure these mung beans are ready for consumption before he left for Singapore.

And he did it! They've magically transformed to bean sprouts!

How many people does it take to harvest my mother's vege? The answer is 2! One to pluck the vegetable and the other to stare into space.

Look Ma! Who says kids don't like to eat vege?

A Different Kind of 12-hour Shift

Many who know of my working schedule would know that i pull several 12-hour shifts in a week. Sometimes my precious snoozing time could be cut down to 4 hours for any work days. Several Saturdays ago, me and some of my other 12-hour shift colleagues decided to pull a different kind of 12-hour shift together, the kind that is definitely more fun and bonding.

12 pm

The day started at 12 pm on Saturday. Me and my boss #1 & boss #2 ( the three of us who live in Singapore despite two of us being Malaysians) met up in Singapore and crossed the causeway. Thank God this was before Mas Selamat escaped, so there was no fuss in crossing the checkpoints. In fact, it was such a breeze we only spent 30 minutes to get from Marsiling to City Square in JB.

1.30 pm

After a brief coffee break, our Malaysian colleague finally reached City Square and whisked us off in his new car to his new home... haha... Spent some time looking around his house, his guava and apple tree, and also playing with his son. Look at this little tot running around in our shoes!

Doesn't his house look nice?

2.30 pm

Finally it was time for lunch! Another of our colleague joined us at this point. This place was highly recommended by them. We had the famous abalone beehoon in this place which has grown from a shack to a 3-shop business in Aminah.

4 pm

What's a trip to JB without shopping? We visited the largest shopping mall in JB, Tebrau City. We spent about 20 minutes just to look for a parking space!

Shopping here felt a little different. The people here dressed more simply, the crowd not as kiasu and the shop attendants are not as 'atas' as those in Singapore, which made me feel at home, really. Another colleague met us here, making up the total number of people shopping together to 7 (plus one toddler). Even though 7 seems like a big number of people to be shopping together, it was surprisingly easy, considering everyone was enjoying just looking at stuff. We managed to squeeze in ANOTHER coffee break in Lavender ( a famous bakery chain in Johor).

7 pm

We all drove in 3 separate cars to Danga Bay, a seaside entertainment hub with theme parks, pasar malam and live performances. Actually, the journey from Tebrau City to Danga Bay was pretty eye-opening cos one of my colleagues was telling me about the virtues of one-night-stands... haha... We started with a slow walk and a tram ride to see the outline of the place. We also tried some of the rides in the park and completed the evening with a nice dinner of Malaysian hawker fare.

.

12 am

Reached my home in Singapore. Now, this is a 12-hour shift i wouldn't mind pulling once in a while.

Puffyrazzi's Family Hainanese Chicken Rice Part Two

Hi guys

After a few post on the upcoming elections (tomorrow!!!!! ), i've decided to continue with my family's famed recipe. Here goes the 2nd part :

Back from the previous part, the chicken ought to be put into the fridge after it is cooked. My guess is that this way, the meat will be more supple and the skin has a nice chewy texture. Wow, look at the colour of the chicken, looks divine eh?

.

While the chicken is resting in the fridge, this is what we're gonna do. Stir fry some ginger, garlic and shallots till fragrant in oil.
.

Next, add in uncooked rice along with pandan leaves for a bonus flavour.

After that, transfer the rice into a rice cooker. Instead of using water as normal, use the honest-to-goodness soup left from cooking the chicken. Proceed to cook like normal rice in the rice cooker.

.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and chop them up into smaller pieces for easy consumption. Everything is almost ready to be savoured (or should i say ravaged) by the family now!

.

And here goes the scrumptious dinner for the Wee family. Do not forget to dip the chicken in the home-made ginger sauce. One meal will make you ask for more....

.

Ubah Gaya Hidup

This election, vote wisely =)

Puffyrazzi's Family Hainanese Chicken Rice Part One

Today, in view of the upcoming elections, i will celebrate it by sharing with everyone my family's recipe which took many years to master to perfection : THE HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE!!! I will share everything except how to make the ginger sauce (which happens to be the best part).

To make a unique dish, obviously we select premium ingredients. Supermarket chickens will not do. Look how big and succulent the chicken is!

.

Bring water to a simmer in a pot (big enough to fit the chicken you have shortlisted =P), add a little ginger to give it some extra taste.
.
Place the chicken in the pot, and cover the lid for 15-20 minutes. If the water does not cover the whole bird, ensure that you occasionally turn the chicken over so that no part is left uncooked.

.

When the chicken has been taken out, remember not to discard the soup. This part will be recycled for later parts. I'll write up till here today, please tune in for Part II, coming out in the next few days.

Recent Photos

My high school best buddy Tong Wooi flew back from Minnesota for her marriage registration. Haven't seen her for 2 years... missed her jovial and cheerful self alot! Congratulations to Tong Wooi and Wei Yen, the two great doctors of the future. Haha....
.

Annual dinner in Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Less photos to show for this year thanks to our procrastination and not showing up early for the dinner =P It was one of the most entertaining annual dinners to date, though.

.

Ahhh...Tong Wooi and I squeezed in a visit to Fazida, our brainy genius friend who kept on trumping the both of us with straight A's then. Her twin boys are really friendly and adorable, and she is as wacky as ever. Glad to know her college years in US didn't cause any impact on her black humour!

QQ Shower Time

Hi, i'm QQ once again. I really love taking a shower. U wanna see me taking my weekly shower?? Shame on you.... OK, u seem nice, i'll let you into my bathroom just this once.

.

Look! Mommy's lathering up my shampoo. To all those buggers who are always calling me fat, look how skinny i look when i'm drenched. Feels so good taking a hot shower... plus the massages i get during the shower is absolutely heavenly!
.

Awww.... i'm done showering. It's time to towel-dry my fur. Only nice soft fluffy towels will do for me. See how thoughtful my mommy is, she put many layers of towels on the floor so that i wouldn't slip and fall.

.

Here comes the best part - Blowdrying haha! My fur is too thick, there's no way towel alone can dry it. To keep me from shivering and dripping, my mommy uses a hair-dryer to speed up the process. I'm beginning to get my nice soft hair back....

.

I smell so good, everybody can't wait to get their hands on me hehe!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Here are some staple food that is a must to usher in the lunar new year. Mandarin oranges! They come in all sizes, and some along with their twigs and leaves too... Look how bright their colours are!

.

My sis brought this 'yu sheng' set back from KL. Now, what does it look like on a dish? Proceed to next photo ...

.

Abalone yu sheng! Of course abalone is excluded from the box set...haha....or else the 'yu sheng' would've cost a bomb! I only managed to snap a photo before the stuff is mixed together. After the deed was done, the whole family was too busy eating to be taking more photos.
.

My mom's fish maw soup. The fish maw is usually stuffed with minced pork, and this has become a common dish for our Chinese New Year dinner. Of course the Hainanese Chicken Rice is also another of our tradition, but more on that next time. My sister and I had taken down all the notes on how to cook the Hainanese Chicken Rice, and we're still compiling the photos =P

.

Warung Karipap ( The Currypuff Stall)

Wow, why is this little stall disappearing under the sea of customers? Hmm...i can smell something nice from over there. Let's approach it for a closer look.

.
Ahhh so this is what's going on! Aunty is making karipap here. The karipaps are selling so fast she could hardly keep up with the rate that it's going. Mind you, the customers surrounding the stall are not the only ones buying...
.

There's even alfresco dining by the seaside at this renowned karipap stall. Nothing beats sitting under the shades of hundred-year-old trees, with the gentle sea breeze and a plate of piping hot karipap!
.

Price list must be displayed at a prominent spot. Wahh...RM0.60 for the best karipap in Kuantan? What a deal!

.

This photo says it all. Look at the yummy-looking karipap, filled with potatoes and chicken curry.... ooooooh la la~

.

QQ Playing with Dad

My cute little shihtzu QQ loves to play with my Dad. Look at his antics in this video! I've never seen a Shihtzu running so fast before...

Bye Bye Xie!

31 December marked the end of Mr Xie's term in my company as my boss, after being here for 13 years. A farewell party was thrown to acknowledge his parting of ways with us. Look at all the food, ordered online from Golden Pillow =)

.


Me and my 3 superiors... with the most senior leaving us. Mr Xie can be considered as one half of the duo that hired me... haha...so i guess i need to thank him for the job. He's a pretty easy-going boss to have. Easy come, easy go...good for subordinates who cannot cope with flaring tempers and volatile outbursts =P

.

While he was here, he loved being surrounded by women...haha...so even before he left, he took the chance to capture a few last moments with the ladies.

.

Of course, a group photo is a must! It was new year's eve so everybody was in a jovial mood. Photo was taken with a timer... now that explains why Kenneth, Cui Cui, Julian and El were not ready... *cheese*

My New Hairdo

My new hairdo...i call it the Puffy Puffyrazzi look. Needs some getting used to. Hahahaha....

MAYATS reunion

Me and my friends (The MAYATS family) finally had a reunion with our founder member 'M' in December. OK, let me explain... MAYATS is the malay word for corpse. We are a family of corpse-like people who greet each other with an expression of 'doosh'. For those interested, you can check out our facebook group from my page. Each alphabet stood for an initial in our names.

.

M-Me (referring to Hsin-hui the founder)

A- Ann

Y- Yen (for Shin Yen)

A - Anne (for Sue Anne)

T - Wendy ( for Wendy Tan)

S - Sheau Ching

.

Later , some of our other close friends were included into this core family and we became an extended family (the word FAMILY being added)

.

F - Felicia

A - Au Yong (Jeremy's surname)

M - Mayat ( Jye Sheng's nickname cos he looked like one)

I - Kingston (there were no other alphabets for him LOL)

L - Ling (Janita's Chinese name)

Y - Ying (Chui Ying)

.

Oh yes, our founder Hsin hui came back for a visit and some of us got to meet up with him. It is almost impossible to have a full MAYATS FAMILY gathering. 7 of us are in Singapore, 1 in Malaysia, 2 in London , 1 in the Netherlands and 1 recovering in hospital. Anyway, really glad to see Hsin Hui again, cos he's like a brother...always concerned about our well-beings. This time he was back, we had some doubts about his 'single status' but he remained pretty tight-lipped in front of everybody. =P He's a Hainanese from Pahang, just like Shin Yen and me. This time he was back, he was surprised to see his hometown submerged under flood waters... he almost had to resort to taking jets meant for dropping food reliefs home cos the roads back home were closed.
.

Ahh... a photo of M A Y A T and another A holding the camera. The extra guy in the photo is our future MAYAT-in-law... LOL! Our latest topic of discussion revolved around a mysterious laptop, hospitals and other strange things. The next time we'll see M again would probably be November 2008.