long time no see !

Yesterday I caught up with KK and Fenny whom I last saw 6 years ago. I met them while volunteering at a wildlife rescue centre. Ahhh...fond memories, like seeing a half-tranquilised orang utan grabbing the vet's leg, ready to sink his long canines in...walking between cages full of tigers, waking up to gibbons howling, and taking a falcon to the vet, because the bird keeper mistook the falcon's ear-holes for holes in the head. ROFL.

I was mostly helping KK in the reptile section. I always thought KK was cool for doing what I can't do, like throwing chicks on the ground to kill them before feeding them to pythons. Illegal wildlife trade is a billion dollar business, second only to illegal trade in drugs and armament, and we got some weird animals...just before I left we got a shipment of scorpions....*shakes head.

anyhoo, we went to Din Tai Fung for their famed steamed dumplings, with soup inside. It was packed, but we could watch the dumplings being made while waiting.

check out the puddings in little glass eggs...so cute!

the dumplings were very good...ja...but the conversation was better. KK's teaching year 7 now, and the kids are always pushing the boundary so she's gotta respond fast to their disses. Like "Miss, I've lost my appetite because you're standing in front of me", and "you need to prepare $1 million for the law suit if you hit me". LOL. Unfortunately most are hard to translate, but this one was so funny, even the waitress started laughing.

"Miss, what would give you the greatest joy?"
"To turn into an elephant and flatten you all" bwahahahahahaa XD

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bamboo charcoal bread with potato inside



just one small section in a clothing store for poor poor pets



a restaurant at 101...the Chinese name for this restaurant is "just any old/crappy place"

had afternoon tea at maxim's...i don't recommend it :P

i did enjoy the maserati and ferrari exhibit though

US$300,000....Daddy!!!

oh and KK's friend brought us donuts from Mister Donut (from Japan, not America). I'd heard that people used to queue ages for them...well not any more, but the donuts really were quite nice, smaller and less doughy than krispy kreme donuts.

anyway, it was good fun. Fenny took a 4 hour train up this time, and I'll go visit her in historic Tainan before I leave :)

oh Heeello!

I've been straying for a while, thought I'd try olympus, nikon, anything but canon. Eventually I came across Sony T20 and found it so easy to use, I was actually excited. For a while, the stylish sonys with their filtres and soft background etc got me in their sway, but I know I'd look stupid tapping at a touch screen like the half-blind mole that I am...so...

Helllo!!!!
now that I'm back with you, I can't remember what I saw in anybody else XD

happy holidays everyone!

kicked off my nice and relaxing holiday season at Alan's new place, it's airy and has a good layout, I like it! went to the fish market around 9 and it was busy, but not as chokers as I'd imagined. The downside was that the prawns I got weren't all that fresh. The oysters were freshly shucked though :-)

of course we had a whole lot of good food, and for entertainment we had Jeff the new landowner - his grandma left his cousin an apartment in HK, and left him a piece of land in the home village in China, which he has to go and sign for (get everyone in the village some dim sum, Myfanwy! LOL), then lease out to farmers and hope for rezoning, probably. Bwahahaha. Anyway, the whole thing's a crack up to me.

Went to G& C's for X'mas - it was like a meat fest! pork chops, roasts, Korean marinated chicken, etc etc...I think I managed to find some potatoes and exactly 2 beans. lol. It was all good though. We did a $15 kris kringle and I got the above Max & Williams teapot set! It was wrapped so beautifully, ribbon and LV tag et al. I also liked the card that said "Dear Somebody, I don't know you but you should know I love you..." lol. Not only did this guy buy this kickarse present, he also made a really great soup.

"how long did this soup take you, A?"
"24 hours"
"@_@"

obviously he's on the same level of awesomeness as D&K. Chrissy you should stop dithering and be the surrogate for both of them. LOL.

anyway, that was a really fun party, and my current m.o. of pat and sticks ice cream worked out well coz no one else brought dessert!

Boxing day I spent at the boys - first time i've had turkey, and it was really good, i wouldn't have thought it was Alan's first attempt. The stuffing with raisins and celery was seriously yummy.

All in all i had a really good time...

and now i'm in TW!

to Chrissy who said "Why Tina why? Why are you taking China Airlines?"

I'm here and I'm alive XD

pre-x'mas stressout

ack

i thought x'mas was at the end of next week or something...

i don't know what to cook for the x'mas eve & x'mas parties...(let's not get on the how). I'll probably douse some prawns in alcohol. WAHAHAHA

MEMO: buy alcomahol and chili! Moscato D'asti...what else...remind me!

i swear I'll finish my 10,000 word chapter 2nite...I must finish eet! whip me if i don't ;p

Stick Insect

How awesome are my manifestation skills! Here's my new 'pet', a stick insect I found on my recycling bin XD


I now look forward to getting everything I want

lol

Stick insects eat leaves, so I put it on a small tree. How gorgeous is it? I especially like the rudder-like thing on it's rear end.

Oh and I love Flickr's new editing function. Saves so much time ^ ^

inchworm

mystery guest on my soap dispenser at 3 am

I think this is an inchworm, which is the caterpillar of the geometer moth. They have 3 pairs of legs at the front of the body, and 2-3 pairs of prolegs (leg-like appendages extending from the abdomen) at the rear.

they move by extending the front end while holding on with their rear legs, then drawing the rear end forward, forming a loop with the body, then extending the front end again to find new attachment. Rather slow, if you ask me. Don't know why they lost their legs...

the inchworm has moved on...I look forward to my next 'pet'

Zahlee's 2!

Zahlee's 2nd birthday was a big affair - there were 3 gazebos, and the entertainment set up for kids was incredible. There was a Shrek jumping castle, a weird duck tunnel/ball pool thing that I bought, swings, a slide, and a cubby house.

Kids today have so much *shakes walking stick*. lol. I was having a mini melt down in Toys R Us and I was not alone. I heard a woman getting exasperated on the phone, "I'm shopping for Callum and I don't know what to get! I'm in the biggest toy store there is and I can't find anything!" Ditto. So I called Chrissy to complain, and she came out to shop with me haha. She kept telling me to buy the tool box kit though.

"don't you think she's too young to be led astray?"
"but I bought her overalls!"

lol. Zahlee's a princess, everyone else bought her pink stuff and dresses.

I remember those stickers! first she put them on her hand, then I put one on her forehead, then she puts them all on her forehead. ha ha.

Mamak

Had lunch with D at Mamak on Goulburn street; it was ok, I'd heard it's nothing compared to the real Malaysian mamaks, but why would I expect it to be authentic? The dishes were reasonably priced but we ended up paying $50...how did that happen!? This is the 2nd most shocking meal after yum cha at Palace. That was with D as well, so I guess captain D is the common denominator...;p

Rojak - Malaysian-style salad with prawn cakes, fried tofu hard boiled eggs, potatoes, bean sprouts and cucumber topped with a thick spicy peanut sauce; Chicken curry

The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender, the curry had some heat which was good, but not quite enough so I ate all the chilis. The rojak was good in muggy weather, but the peanut sauce got a bit too sickly sweet after a while. mmm..a papaya salad would be good now.

incredibly dry and small beef satay sticks ;p


roti canai, ok, a bit too oily



teh tarik/warm milk tea - traditionally poured from cup to cup at great height to produce a frothy head.

the ice kacang was a bit disappointing - nothing in it except for corn, red beans and grass jelly

So yeah, it was ok, but I definitely would not line up for it on a fri or sat night. Now that I am on a roll, I'd like to try Malay Chinese Takeaway next ;)

Sojourn

It's been a while since my last outing to a nice restaurant, and dining at a 1 hat restaurant certainly makes a welcome change from the monotony of vegies with rice and Korean instant noodles ;)

I had never heard of Restaurant Sojourn, so it was thanks to Atua-the-tetsu-snob that I got to try their 10 course degustation (oh and I meant to thank you for booking too!)

Amuse Bouche - carrot soup with thyme and hazelnut

we were served warm bread rolls, followed by an amuse bouche in a gorgeous cup; it tasted really like pumpkin soup to my peasant palate, and didn't go well with the hazelnut, imho.

Freshly Shucked Oyster With Cucumber & Champagne Jelly

I love oysters, and these were very fresh, with that wonderful briny creaminess...I could have had a dozen. I wasn't a fan of the jelly because of the texture, it's hard against the silky smooth oysters...I suppose it's because I prefer natural oysters, but then the oyster with kinome butter I had at Yoshii was really amazing.

Sashimi of yellow fin tuna with avocado, crisp soft shell crab & horseradish mayonnaise

This was almost too pretty to eat! almost...loved the crunchy pieces of crab; the tuna reminded me of a tuna carpaccio ZT made once, light and refreshing.

Roasted scallops with asparagus mousse, lemon thyme veloute,
candied pancetta & fresh sturgeon caviar

This dish had the most wonderful aroma from the warm veloute, which complimented the scallops without overwhelming it (again...i like my seafood as natural as possible). I wish there was more caviar! there was a lot of chasing around the plate because they were so hard to pick up. hehe. The asparagus mousse was cold...it went well with the pancetta, but I wouldn't have missed it.

Pressed duck & artichoke terrine with walnut & pears salad & toasted brioche

Atua was a bit 'meh' about the terrine, because it was dry, and not pâté-like, as it's supposed to be. I don't think I've had terrine so could not say. The brioche was fantastic though, so warm, light and soft....yum...and how cute does it look, all tucked in :-)

it was so good, or may be Atua was just still really hungry, she patted the napkin to see if there's more brioche hiding inside. Bwahahahahaha. She looked so hopeful, I wanted to curl up on the floor and laugh until I cry. I'm still laughing now. I guess you had to be there. XD

Roasted new season lamb rack with caramelised lamb breast,
spring pea vinaigrette, marjoram gnocchi & pea puree

A nice homy dish, except we're stumped by the lamb breast, which tasted like duck. There were also some sweatbread, which is made from either pancreas or thymus. I know this because I've been reading Weird Meat; if you like a stomach turning adventure involving offal and bugs, this is the blog for you.

Roasted New Zealand venison with butternut pumpkin fondant,
Iberico Jamon & cavolo nero

By the time I got to this dish, I was really quite full, so I had to offload some bambi to Atua. But not the jamon and cavolo nero (Italian spinach), they went really well together even though the cavolo nero was quite salty. Pumpkin and toasted muesli was also a surprisingly good combination.

Saint Agur with beetroot, walnuts & cabernet sauvignon reduction

Ahhh...blue cheese, definitely not a favourite of mine. I did enjoy the accompanying beetroot concoction though, almost like a palate cleanser after all the meat.

Baked vanilla custard with lime sorbet, coconut, lime & rose petal salad

The pre-dessert was actually really good, and I preferred it to the dessert itself. All the components were good on their own, and did not clash with each other. The baked custard was so warm and smooth, I want more!

Cumquat and macadamia praline parfait with ginger custard cannelloni
& plum sorbet

I didn't actually finish the parfait. I like cumquat, but the taste was really too strong for a dessert. The ginger custard cannelloni was excellent though :-)

I wasn't disappointed with the food, even if I do sound a bit hard-to-please (that's just me in general). It was a nice experience, and I can't really compare this to what I normally eat...but I feel like a warm, hearty, home-cooked meal now XD

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In the yuppy suburb of Balmain, you can get CALM - water for your pet.

• Premium bottled spring water
• Flower essences: Paw Paw, She-Oak, Black-eyed Susan, Crowea and Bush Fuchsia
• No flavouring, colouring or preservatives
• 100% natural, certified organic and hypo-allergenic
• Animals will not be able to differentiate taste from regular spring water

makes sense ;p

my dad cracks me up

my dad likes to report his whereabouts and activities, which i find endearing and funny. Before he logs off skype, he would say "I'm going to iron my shirts now"..."I'm going to watch the presidential campaign" etc.

in what seems like a role reversal, he would often call mum up from work, or from wherever he had cycled to...and report what's happening. XD


today he wanted to leave to sing along to Japanese enka on telly, but decided he would sing Fuyu Geshiki to me on skype instead


then i heard my mum howling along...

too funny

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OMG!!! MY MUM SAW WILD RED-CROWNED CRANES FROM SIBERIA, WINTERING IN THE MOUNTAINS!!!

i want to see them too...

she only saw them after I told her there are 4 lost cranes wintering in TW. They normally winter in Hokkaido (Japan), Korea, and along coastal areas of China. She said she saw 2 by the road, and yes, they were huge.

These are endangered birds (1,700 - 2000 in the wild), and much as I'd love to see them, I'd rather they leave before they are harmed, since they are easily accessed and some people still practice the Chinese Challenge of eating animals that you're not supposed to eat.

Anyway, great photos from one of my fav TW bird blogs.

White-faced Heron

went to the backyard after lunch, and...my god, is that a heron on my lawn? well lawn is a nice word to describe something that resembles a grassland. If I don't mow it by tomorrow I expect to see large herbivores moving in. lol.

anyway i rushed back in to grab my camera...when i got back in the yard it was at the far end, walking by the pool, stabbing at things on the ground.

i had to lower the aperture because it was so glary, but when the heron started walking the shutter speed was too slow to freeze it...so i only have one semi-decent shot. bah!

the hilarious thing is seeing the interaction (or lack of) between 2 species.

From right to left,

1. heron walking at one end of pool, and i spot large blue-tongued lizard basking at the other end
2. await contact with bated breath...heron walks right past lizard. Where's the carnage?
3. continues walking...lizard slinks off

lol. the shitty photos can't convey how funny it was. i guess you had to be there. XD

a food review of sorts

I had a lovely time last night but that had nothing to do with the food...for all the hype, Ryo's Noodle was really quite disappointing. It was a slow night, and the few patrons sat quietly slurping their noodles to weird trippy music....it was bizarre. The wooden tables were very wide and I would have found it hard to talk to someone across the table, even though the place was devoid of the usual clamour and clatter and buzz of your typical Asian eatery. Funny I should complain, since we got a table without having to wait...it's just that I've never eaten anywhere so...languorous...;p

I apologise for the food pics, all of which are out of focus. Time to get a new camera, methinks. lol.

well this is my miso ramen - the noodles were straight and thin, much like soba noodles (I like the wavy type), and the soup was VERY salty. There were even signs on the walls alerting customers to ask for less salty soup at time of order. The signs were in mandarin...they must get a lot of complaints from Chinese people...hehe.

I love riceballs (onigiri) and the cod roe onigiri was nice, as it was served slightly warm. Deep fried soft shell crab was good too, if a bit small. I laughed at the mix-up between geckos and skinks, but couldn't answer the question about soft shell crabs. Shame. I know. Here's the answer - crabs and other crustaceans need to molt in order to grow, so at intervals, they grow a new soft inner shell under their existing shell, then go in hiding to avoid predators while they break out of their old shell. They absorb water to inflat their new shell to a larger size, and are vulnerable for a few days until their new shell hardens. Soft shell crab isn't a species, different species are harvested depending on the region.

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I really like Balmoral beach, it's tranquil, local, and just so happens to be home to Bather's Pavilion ;)

My creme brulee was served cold, with a lot of light and easily cracked toffee...it was a bit too sweet for me, and I wish the top was warm. The chocolate gateau was very rich.

my dessert was ok...anyway it was the location that I liked. I can't fault sitting by floor-length windows, watching the sea, the rain, and lightning strikes in flashes of white and purple :-)

Leaf-tailed Gecko

I found this guy in the backyard this morning!

sweet!

bye bye puck!

Puck's leaving us for SF, and I am so sad, I can only think of this sad sad song by John Mcdermott.

"my couch lies over the ocean
my couch lies over the sea..."

or was it my bonnie? lol. nevermind. Anyway, I'm happy that puck's going to an exciting, arty place that suits her interests :-)

warrior and healer...lol

Lord Roberts Hotel fish + chips ($6 on sat nite); the drinks were cheap too! from beez neez - $4 to bohemian pilsner - $6. of course I had one too many...

farewells are funny things...i didn't get to talk to puck that much, and she probably repeated the same stuff regarding her impending move to people over and over? I guess this is only a worry for people with many friends hehe.

the high school crowd...and why are you always so cheerful, dexter?

Anyway, all the best Puck, wishing you a lot of fun in SF, especially with leather-clad men XD

*

Also went to another high school friend's awesome new pad, and had really scrumptious Royce chocolate from Hokkaido, Japan. It's soft, creamy and covered in chocolate powder...so very very moreish!

come to think of it, I didn't even attempt to take a photo of the chocolate (what's wrong with me? lol)...probably had a few too many...I must remember not to drink too much next time, coz I just talk too much and repeat myself (gaa! i'm turning into my mum!) ha ha. The upside is that I didn't feel much pain from being bitten repeatedly by the evil kitty. ok, so I was the one that wanted to play, but I swear if the owner wasn't there I would have given it the cuteoverload kronche. lol.