Thursday, February 26, 2009
the big one
Been quite busy lately.

One decision to be made. Although not life or death matter, still, it decides where I am going to spend a year in. A year. A whole lot of changes it will make, possibly re-routes my future directions in life as well.

Anyhow, my heart is set.
posted by peter t.s.k. at 10:23 PM 1 comments

Sunday, February 8, 2009
procrastinate i did, and will.
I just never learn.
posted by peter t.s.k. at 1:50 PM 0 comments

Saturday, February 7, 2009
reunion dinner CNY 09
Yay! finally managed to upload the pictures.
So, here you go, the dishes I had for my reunion dinner - an almost complete compilation cos u don't expect me to take pic of every single portion of the food served, right?

Okay, just because someone awfully detests me for the previous post, in addition to the name of the dishes I shall also provide a detailed description of how wonderful each dish is to compound the misery of people away from home.

*evil laugh*

Peanuts for starters:
Lightly salted, crisp roasted peanuts.














Yee Sang/ Yu Sheng/ Whatever.
A dish traditionally served on CNY occasions, a delight for both sight and taste. The horse radish, octopus slices and carrots were freshly prepared, so the taste was quite different from the pre-packed ones you buy in supermarkets.






















Yee Sang/ Yu Sheng/ Whatever.
After we toss them with shouts for prosperity.
















Shark's Fin Soup.
Although I don't support the killing of sharks just for their fins (once I watched the documentary by NatGeo and was horrified by it), this is a traditional must-have at any Chinese celebration dinners. This one I had, they put in alot of shelled crab meats (real ones mind you, not the plastic crabsticks - i hate those).


















Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables
Healthy mix of vegetables, mushroom and slices of meat stir-fried in oyster sauce base.


















Braised Sea Cucumber with Dried Scallops
Usually I don't favour sea cucumbers but I heart this one! They were cooked to the perfect texture - just the way I like them. Plus the sauce was just right - neither too soupy nor starchy, too rich nor diluted.
















Shelled Prawns
I forgot which dish was this shelled prawns a part of, but they were abit too generous with it cause I remember having lots of these - heavenly both bcos it taste great and also bcos I do not have to shell them myself! =D



















Steamed Chicken
I forgot what sauce they used but it sure looks delicious, even now, right?



















Braised Scallops
Fresh scallops!

















Black Moss
Couldn't snap a clearer picture of this because the moss are so fine and the sauce literally glues them into a big pile of crumpled hair looking structure. Known better as "fatt choy" among Chinese, and we serve it during CNY for a sign of prosperity.




















Sour Spicy Fish Maw/ "Gor Ru"
Traditional Foo Chow dish, Fish Maw served in sour spicy soup! It's prepared from fish stomach or fish bladder I forget la, and this dish was the only one that wasn't too great. Cause actually I think the ones my sisters prepare at home are better =D




















Braised Pacific Clams/ Razor Clams
Yet another seafood dish! I've warned you, right?
















Steamed Codfish - BEST!
My favourite dish of the night, the cod fish slices melt in my mouth and the herbal flavour added was awesome!!


















Fried Prawns with Salad
Another prawn dish, because I totally heart prawns! Haha. Here, it is the fried version, accompanied by some kerabu and fruit salad.














Dessert - Kaya Rolls & Redbean Soup
The dessert was so lip-smacking good I tell you, cause I was so full by the end of the seafood extravaganza but still I manage to find some room to down a bowl of redbean soup with roll after roll of the piping hot sweet kaya rolls.











































Thats it, you have (almost) all of the dishes I had during reunion dinner. And by the pictures, my frens in Jakarta, you could wonder no more why I ballooned up in just a week time, right? I'd say, it was well worth the weight gained, cause I'll never have these in this sorrowful city of Jakarta!

Last but not least, here's my nephew wishing all of you happy belated CNY! Haha, kidding la, he was celebrating his 4th birthday... =)



























Peace out everyone!
Good night.

P/s: Hate comments such as "I awfully detest you" are not welcomed, muahahahaha.

posted by peter t.s.k. at 10:53 PM 6 comments

the tale of my CNY
Okay I am back!

Special Senses module just started and although the timetable looks pleasant enough, I’ve been boggled down by work – PBLs and research stuff. Plus the fact that we get a PBL facilitator who is by far the strictest isn’t really helping to motivate me at all. Groupings stay the same so I’ll have the company of “The Apple of Physiology Dept Lecturers Eyes” a.k.a. Lim Huy Ming, and the rest like Terence, Gaya, Jaja, etc for another 3 modules.

Besides, I got the news that Melb Uni (that’s where I’m heading to for my Semester 7 and 8 unless any other more appealing destinations become available) will be starting on June 15th! *gasp with widest mouth ever* that is like only 4 months from now!

Okay, done with academica stuffe.

The purpose of my entry today, is none other than to talk about the wonderful holidays I had back in Malaysia for CNY, which unfortunately also becomes the holidays when I gained most weight per period time of holidays (exact obscene figure shall not be disclosed here).

So, anyway, it was kinda special because all my siblings were back in Sitiawan during that time. It’s not that we don’t go back to Sitiawan on CNYs before this but last year I was unable to return and I think three years ago, my sister wasn’t around because her baby was due in the 8th day of Chinese Lunar Calendar and possibly next year, I’m not gonna be around too.

However, it was an unusually quiet CNY. No more lively atmosphere with relatives coming to visit and stuff and heck, I think the fireworks also not that happening anymore. Economy recession meh? No lar, one major reason should be both my paternal and maternal grandpa isn’t around anymore so most of my aunts and their families do not come back to their hometown anymore.

On the other hand, gatherings with old schoolmates were fun! Had a McD session with some people who I’ve not met for like a grand total of 3 years. It was pretty funny too cause all we ordered was drinks and we spent so much time there I think the McD management stuff would probably blacklist us from ever stepping our feet there anymore.

Besides, I went to watch “The Wedding Game” starring C.Lee and F.Wong and erm… it wasn’t up to my expectations. The plot is too simple and they spent too much time on details that are either unimportant or do not appeal to me. Nevertheless, like any typical Singaporean productions, they never did run out of jokes and off-tangent humour so I’d recommend it if you’d want to watch it at home jus to pass time but not in cinema.

People always ask what types of food I miss the most when I am away in Jakarta and after several trips back home, I finally know the answer. Seafood! Well, that’s because to those who don’t already know, my dad is a fishmonger working for my aunt and I literally grew up eating seafood. Read, FRESH seafood. So, it’s not like there’s a short supply of seafood here in Jakarta but the seafood here is either exorbitantly priced (yea I’m a poor scholar) or they are not fresh or they are cooked in ways that totally turns off your appetite upon seeing it.

Thus, whenever I am back, or even before that, my dad would already start to store a supply of my favorite seafood. This time around, it was no exception and I think I overindulged myself on too much fish =_=. Oh, that reminds me of something. The reunion dinner I had on the 30th night was the best ever because the amount of seafood dishes plus the way they cook it, was too heavenly to be described by words.

I took pictures of almost all the dishes we had and I've resized them but due to the horribly vegetable connection I'm having here right now, I couldn't get them loaded. Total bull ass shit right? Hope it'll get better soon and I'll get those pics up then.

That’s all for today.

I’ll blog again, very SOON I guess =D

posted by peter t.s.k. at 2:41 PM 3 comments