Fifteenth Day of Chinese New Year - Chap Goh Mei

The fifteenth day of Chinese New Year is more popularly known in Malaysia as Chap Goh Mei. The celebrations of the fifteenth day is no less splendid; on the night we would make sweet glutinous rice balls (tang yuan) served in a ginger syrup soup as a symbol of unity (round) and the good things in life (sweetness). Chap Goh Mei is also the Chinese version of St. Valentine's day, with unmarried girls throwing mandarin oranges for the man of their dreams to pick up.

I worked on Chap Goh Mei, of course. This Chap Goh Mei turned out to be the most eventful one of my life so far. The pharmacy I worked at was robbed and I was held up by a man holding a sharp knife. Thankfully no one was hurt. I left the pharmacy feeling angry, angry that there are people who feel that they have the right to rob and steal from others just because they feel themselves to be underprivileged. This man is neither physically impaired, and certainly not mentally impaired, considering that he is clever enough to orchestrate a hold-up on two defenceless ladies. Indeed.

I left the scene feeling detached and wary, too. I can't stop these things from happening. One of the things in life. It's a valuable lesson for me to be always vigilant no matter where I am. My rose-tinted glasses have faded now.

To that man: You may escape without being caught this time, count yourself lucky. I do believe in karma. What goes around comes around. It's a valuable lesson for you, too, not just for me.

I saw the full moon on Chap Goh Mei night. I wished that I was carrying a Chinese lattern as when I was young, playing beneath the moonlight, blissfully unaware of the ugly reality of the world.

Sadly, I no longer live in a beautiful world.

Fifteenth Day of Chinese New Year - Chap Goh Mei

Fifth Day of Chinese New Year in Sydney

I arrived in Sydney this morning to very nice cool weather, a far cry from the blistering heat back home in Petaling Jaya.

Chinese New Year cannot be any quieter than in Sydney, with most of the celebrations concentrated in Chinatown, only 15 minutes' away from where I stay. Whereas I had the sound of Chinese drums and cymbals accompanying the lion dance back home, back at college, I have the banging and clanging of heavy machinery at the construction site right next to the college. Still, I fancy the sounds to be those of Chinese New Year celebrations, to keep my Chinese New Year spirits up. After all, the festive season does not end until after the 15th.

KT bought a nian gao at Chinatown. Tonight, I'll be frying battered nian gao with sweet potato slices, a little treat for us. Can't wait... yum yum... :)

Fifth Day of Chinese New Year in Sydney

First Day of Chinese New Year

The first day of Chinese New Year has always been celebrated pretty much the same way from year to year at our household. By the time the three of us kids (not so young anymore, but we're still kids in our parents' eyes) wake up, my mother would be busy frying the "nian gao". My mother cuts the nian gao into thin pieces, coats them in egg batter, and / or fries them together with sweet potato pieces. Yummy stuff!!! I love the sticky, chewy, crispy texture of fried nian gao.

Fireworks (although banned in Malaysia) and lion dance are a must during Chinese New Year. Some families in the neighbourhood pay for dance troupes to perform the lion dance to welcome in the new year, bringing the families good fortune. Fireworks and the sounds of the lion dance liven up the atmosphere.

We would have the TV on whilst eating fried nian gao. Almost every channel would air programmes relating to the Chinese New Year, so my sisters would channel surf until they see an interesting programme (it used to be just three channels, now with Channel 7, 8, and 9, and Astro, the possibilities are endless!).

Then comes tradition. The night before we would set up a table as a makeshift altar to pray to the gods and my late grandfather on New Year's Eve. The next morning, after breakfast, we would light some incense to put at the altar, and then we would have the tea ceremony. After pouring tea to the elders (in my case, my grandmother and my parents), they would give us a red packet "ang pow" as a symbol of good luck.

We would then set up the tea table laden with Chinese New Year titbits - some bought, some home-made, and wait for relatives and friends to call on us. That usually means more "ang pows" for us "kids". :P It's during Chinese New Year that we get to see relatives and friends whom we have not seen in a while, sit down and have a chat about the past year.

That's pretty much the first day... not very eventful, but for me, just perfect the way the day goes by, as long as I am at home, I am very happy. :)

First Day of Chinese New Year

Berry Nice Ice-cream Cheesecake

KT has nicknamed the pharmacy I work in "The Laidback Chemist" for a good reason; it hardly gets busy during the day when I work , so I spend most of the time at the back watching cooking shows on TV. One of my favourite shows is Huey's Cooking Adventures (3:30pm, Mondays - Fridays, Channel Ten). The half an hour cooking slot is jam-packed with interesting recipes (certainly adventurous; have you ever heard of WATERMELON CURRY with seared swordfish?) and useful cooking tips. I have tried some of Huey's recipes, but it's this particular recipe from which I have had some good reviews (KT said that even a friend who's a chef at this super-posh restaurant - The Wharf - deigned to try it!), so here it is, with some variations to the recipe:

I call it Berry Nice Ice-cream Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

For the cake base:

2 cups crushed sweet biscuits (I usually use digestive biscuits because they're less sweet; this time around I used Cole's "Nice biscuits" because I wondered how biscuits could not taste nice - the result was a very nice base indeed!)

175 melted butter

For the cake:

1/2 cup unrefined sugar (Huey's recipe: 3/4 cup castor sugar; I didn't have castor sugar, castor sugar would have made the cake much smoother I suppose, and I didn't want the cake to be too sweet!)

500 g Philadelphia cream cheese (softened) (Huey's recipe 375 g; my cake would have been much cheesier then!)

200 g frozen raspberries

1 L vanilla ice-cream (softened)

For the topping:

Fresh berries (I used fresh strawberries and blueberries)

Frozen raspberries

Marsala wine (Huey's recipe called for Orange Liquor - Curaçao - but I didn't want to buy a whole bottle; I had some Marsala left over from my tiramisu adventure, so I used Marsala instead, turned out to be nice and mellow as opposed to the tartness of orange liquor I suppose?)

Method:

Prepare the cake base:

1. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter.

2. Flatten the mixture into a springform tin.

3. Put the tin into the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the base to set.

Meanwhile, prepare the cake mixture:

1. Blend cream cheese and sugar in a food processor until smooth.

2. Pour mixture into a bowl.

3. Purée the frozen raspberries in the food processor.

4. Add the puréed raspberries to the cream cheese and sugar mixture. Mix with a

spatula until well-combined.

5. Gradually add the vanilla ice-cream to the mixture.

6. Pour mixture into the springform tin (with the set cake base).

7. I put some of the fresh blueberries into the cake mixture - not according to

recipe, but just to try out.

8. Put the tin into the freezer to set the cake.

To prepare the pièce de résistance - the berry topping:

1. Quarter the strawberries.

2. Soak the berries into the liquor - this process is called maceration - to soften

the berries and allow the flavour to develop in the liquor.

Prior to serving, thaw the cake slightly by leaving it in the fridge for a while. Cut into slices and top with the berry topping. Enjoy! I know I did!

Berry Nice Ice-cream Cheesecake

I Love You

I Love You

Love

"In sickness and in health, until death doth parts us"
Mr. and Mrs. L are the pharmacy's regular customers. They nearly always come to the pharmacy together. They stand patiently at the counter whilst I get their medications ready. They would make small talk whilst waiting, the kind that husbands and wives make after being together for a very long time, yet are still very fond of each other. When I go to the counter with their medications, Mr. L signs the scripts and tells Mrs. L to pay for the medications. Mrs. L exclaims in feigned indignation, "Pay with my money? You give me money only to take it away from me?" She proceeds to tell me sotto voce, "That's to make sure that I won't leave him" and she smiles. I then jokingly reply, "Who does the cooking?". Mrs. L says, "I do! I do everything and he does nothing!", to which Mr. L affirms, "I do nothing". They carry on their bantering all the way to the door.
Mr. L, on one occasion of him coming to the pharmacy without Mrs. L, told me that Mrs. L had a bad back. "Goodness knows she has a bad back, with me as her burden all these years, but don't tell her that."
Mr. C is by Mrs. C's bedside every day. She is a shell of her former self, sleeping most the time due to the pain medications given to her. She can no longer talk nor walk from weakness, her eyes lighting up when she has visitors, her eyes the windows of communication when speech fails her. Mr. C sits and watches over her, his love for her is silent but strong, stated not in words but in actions.
They know better than others the meaning of love, love that transcends mere words. I am moved to awe and tears. I hope to begin to understand, if only a fraction at a time, what love is all about.

Love

Dae Han Ming Guk!!!! - Kimchi family trip 2007

8 days and 7 nights in South Korea (16/12/2007 - 22/12/2007) - I am practically addicted to kimchi!!!

It was -3 degrees Celcius when we reached Seoul Incheon Airport at 7:30am 16/12/2007. It was cool, but not too unbearable since it was not windy. We took the tour bus from Incheon to Kimpo Domestic Terminal to catch a flight to Jeju Island, where our South Korea trip officially began.

Jeju Island is nicknamed the Hawaii of South Korea for its beachfront and the fact that Koreans flock Jeju during summertime. The first thing I noticed as we came out of the airport was the palm trees. Hawaii indeed, if not for the cool weather and slightly cloudy sky. The tour guide, Eddy, told us that Jeju is also famous for its tangerines. We saw rows of tangerine trees planted by the roadsides, laden with big fat tangerines. I vaguely recall this Korean TV drama in which the female lead was caught stealing tangerines from a tangerine orchard in Jeju. I wondered if they were sweet.

Jeju is Korea's largest island, composed of volcanic rocks. Not surprisingly, the various rock formations of Jeju is one of the tourist attractions. Yongduam (Dragon Head Rock) was our first destination. Its namesake is due to a large basalt rock resembling a dragon's head protuding out of the sea.

Dae Han Ming Guk!!!! - Kimchi family trip 2007

Facebook

I've finally joined the Facebook crowd... it looks sleeker and more organised than Friendster. I can understand what the hype is all about... it's just a matter how long I can keep up with the hype...

I just realised that I'm thinking like my father... am I that old???

Facebook

Home Sweet Home

I'm back home in Petaling Jaya. It's the first day today. I've been taking it easy... sleeping in, staying up late, eating, making more bracelets. My sister, SX, is back at home for the holidays; she has her JC homework to do, I help her out with Chemistry, I'm just glad that I don't have to study anymore... not obligatory study anyway. :P

It's good to be home. Don't know how else to describe the feeling of being home than feeling a sense of belonging and security. It's good... all good...

Home Sweet Home

Recently

I've been doing a lot of things recently...

I've renewed my bracelet project - making bracelets out of ribbons with bead / embroidery patterns. I'm getting better at the designs and the final products look much more presentable.

I've made a hard cover book from scratch... I'll upload the pictures soon... but for the first try, I'd say that it's a pretty decent book.

I've tried two different recipes of tiramisu. The first one, an oven-baked item, although it looked disgusting in presentation, surprisingly tasted good. I've just tried out the second recipe tonight, I'll only know the result tomorrow. ;)

I also cooked clay pot chicken rice tonight for the very first time. It was a bit wet, but it tasted good, much to my surprise.

I've also fallen in love... with life. There are so many things that I have tried, that I have yet to try... I can't wait to wake up every morning to start something new.

Unless, of course, I have to wake up to work. :P

Recently