Here I Come

Whoo-hoo 3 more days and I'll be in Penang.

AND the Gap is having its Summer Sale.

Sweet!

The Human Touch?

Today, some two months after the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon Rig, the NY Times posted that "Faced with the continuing American furor over its gaffe-prone British chief executive, Tony Hayward, BP is putting a former Mississippi resident in charge of handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its aftermath."

He doesn't have a British accent like Tony Hayward - he has a "Mississippi" one, so the media'll probably be more accepting.

He apparently knows "what crabbing, shrimping and fishing is about". Geez.

I guess the human touch, a familiar face, even in situations that are obviously calling for calculated expertise and cold calm, is important. I don't know - aren't we letting our emotions take over here? Does this really matter?

Hmm. The Human Touch. The Familiar Voice.

I wonder.

(The Attempt at) Relaxing in Phuket

Posh food first - here we are at the Black Ginger restaurant, a gorgeous place set in the middle of a lotus pond, in the vicinity of our hotel (will get to that in a minute).



The interiors are dark and moody and glamorous in a very Asian way, with blue-lighted chandeliers, wood carvings with gold leaf, black wood panelling throughout, soft Thai music playing.


We had a spiced stewed pork - tasted like a highly spiced (star anise, cinnamon) Chinese tau yu pork, Massoman beef curry (spicy and a little on the sweet side) and a crispy noodles with a crabmeat gravy. All were good, and the prices were actually pretty reasonable - I mean, they were by no means cheap, but for the quality and amount of food, the excellent service, the ambience - definitely worth the money. Our only regret was that we did not stop by during the day to take more photographs!

Streetside seafood dinner - fried giant prawns (350 baht per kilo) in green pepper and garlic. I loved biting into the whole (fresh) green peppercorns.

Charcoal grilled prawn with an assortment of condiments - I love the one with fresh coriander, fish sauce and chilli, of course.

Patong scene - open-air bartop dancing by a selection of transvestites - very beautiful they are too. It's like Mardi-gras met a strip club met Puduraya - trannies dressed in feather boas and sequins beckoning to AK, real (I think) girls pole dancing on tables, some guy/auntie/child coming by every so often trying to sell us tickets to their "shows".

I have tosay, a walk along Patong is a must do, if that is all that you do (I mean walk). Take in the noise, the music, the sights (oh my, the sights!) We debated watching the so-called "Tiger" show, ahem, but decided againts it - me because I was afraid I'd get grossed out and launch into an angry feminist tirade, and AK because he thought it would be lame for just the two of us to go.

Shopping in Phuket's newest mall, the Jungceylon. I bought a wonderful pair of ballerina kitten heels for just 290 baht. I'm wearing them daily to work now - so light and comfy. Now I wish I bought more. By the way, notice my Tods Bauletto? :)

We stayed at the funky, tin-mined themed Indigo Pearl. I booked the cheapest room, but we got upgraded to a Pearl suite, with an open concept bathroom and a ginormous bathtub in the study :P.

Check out the tool-themed cutlery.

Infinity pool. The resort had, I think, four or five pools altogether. This one doesn't allow kids below 18 to use it. Posh.

An open-air arena in the hotel grounds. The grounds are so huge and there's so much stuff (restaurants, pools, gardens, yoga pavillion, bars, spa) spread out in the property. We got lost a couple of times trying to find our way to and from our room.

The lobby, where they sit you down on an electric daybed and give you an iced lemongrass drink while your personal hotel guide brings you everything you need to sign on. No need to stand at a counter. 5-star treatment, this is.

I'm not really bothered to put up our beach trip photos, cos the beaches and the snorkeling here, are, well, sub-par. I've told whoever bothered to listen - just go to KK and don't bother signing up for the tour, unless you like seeing dead bleached corals and the odd fish or two.

I wouldn't come here again - despite the wonderful hotel, it wasn't exactly the best experience. Vendors here are pushy and cunning - everything is up for bargaining - the fees to the snorkeling trip, the car rental, the food we ordered (other than the hotel stuff), and of course the intimidating Patong street vendors. The real saving grace to me were the two Jim Thompson stores :) - in the Carnival shopping mall and the Phuket airport, where I splurged most of Thai Baht on.

Mangoes in Miri

It's mango season in Miri (been here 5 years and never really experienced it - maybe I didn't even notice - baaaaad).

Of course, I had to sample every type I could get my hands on.

Chiang Mai Coffee Ice Cream (a la Vietnamese)

I have fallen in love.

With Chiang Mai.

With its scenery, weather, beautiful city with its waterways and ancient walls, its succession of intricately gold-leafed wats.

Its mango ice blendeds.

Its night market.

Its coffee. Say what??

Now AK and I are somewhat wannabe barristas. I got him a Bodum coffee press from Starbucks for Christmas gift once, and I think we have used it (before this) a grand total of three times. Turns out washing the filter isn't as much fun as brewing coffee. And, cheapo that I am, I have been unable to declare any coffee better than good ol' Nescafe. No Arabica brews from Dome, Starbucks or the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for me. Yes, old, cheap habits die hard.

Well, my coffee love is revived with this highland coffee from Chiang Mai. They plant this amongst secondary growth in the jungle. It's mighty strong and I have taken to drinking it in shots. I take 2 tablespoons of the ground coffeebeans, pop them in my press and add a cup of water. Then I pour the black liquid out into a pretty glass and down it neat, in shots.

So as fate would have it, I decided to browse Cafe Fernando, a famous Turkish food blog I aspire to be in my next life. And he had a recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream. Well, you don't need to tell me twice.

Leaving work much earlier than I normally would (anyway it's the school holidays - most of the poeple are not even in the office - that's my excuse), I popped by the store to by a can of condensed milk and a can opener (mine rusted into oblivion sometime ago - but I hardly needed it before - does this mean that we're eating a lot fresh stuff? I hope so.). Of course, no shopping trip can end in just 2 items. I ended up buying the biggest stainless steel sieve in the store, another big stainless steel bowl for mixing up wontons and whipping cream, and a carton of milk. Good stuff.

The ice cream? Well, I followed Cafe Fernando's recipe except I added a swig of Tia Maria for some alchoholic oomph. And also I was doing all could to counter the strong caramelly-milky condensed milk taste. Turns out they all can only coexist together, not wipe each other out.


I ended up with a soft-serve, no-churn ice cream that tasted like a very very concentrated Vietnamese coffee drink. If you ask me, I think I prefer the custard-based ices with a hint of the condensed milk, as I found it a bit too much (sweet) for me. Well, you can't beat the convenience. I guess some great cooking (but not all) does take time.

Spoils from Thailand

Lotus-shaped celadon platter. I plan to place a big scented candle on this.

Pashminas galore. The prettiest paisley one in the background is a bit coarse (can't ask for much for a mere 150 baht), so I am using it as a sofa blanket. This wonderful stall owner lady told me that she "no talk much, other people ask for 350 baht, but I no talk. 150 baht!", so I bought three - the paisley one and the purple ones (one plain with flowers embroidered at the edges, and one with silver thread patterns). The plain grey one I bought at one of the shops for 100 baht.

Adorable elephant coin purses and keychains.

Handstiched coin purses. 10-30 baht.

A whimsical three-elephant painting. A 100% silk Jim Thompson kerchief I intend to frame and display. The lanna-patterned piece at the back is actually the Jim Thompson packaging - I love it so much that I framed it already.

3 miniature elephants. I spent the entire trip scouring for colourful, happy-looking ones and ended up with these three. AK wouldn't let me get more.

Another JT masterpiece, this time in blue. And a pair of adorable postcards I also want to frame up, preferably in my future daughter's room. :)

Tranquil Buddha plaque carved from blackwood. We bargained this down from 450 to 200 baht!

Here it is in our humble little rented living room.

Here is the aformentioned JT envelope that I framed up.

A funky baby tee with textured Thai God pattern. And the piece de resistance (by far the most expensive of the lot) - a 100% silk, super duper soft and luxurious JT shawl for mum.


Here is a closeup of the pattern. AK spotted the stall selling this and dragged me over, where we proceeded to purchase 4 pieces - one for each of us and one for each of my brothers.


Here's some more shots of the JT shawl. Most tempted to keep this for myself, but a slob like me will likely ruin something so beautiful.




Oh, and MY favourite purchase, the Jim Thompson stuffed elephant. Beside it is a framed applique of a famous Thai effigy.

The 3-headed elephant Erawan or Airavata, which is the mythical "elephant of the clouds"; a white elephant that carried the God Indra. I learnt this from Wikipedia, actually. At the time of purchase all I knew was that this was the most gorgeous figurine of the lot. And if you haven't noticed by now, I do love elephants.



Look at the craftsmanship of this stuffed elephant from Jim Thompson - the little stitched hooves, the mouth and of course the adorable plaque on his bowtie.

I actually have more stuff (more clothes, Jim Thompson t-shirts for both AK and I, normal stuff we collect like key chains and fridge magnets). Next post!!

Couscous with Orange Drumsticks

Simple dinner for two, perfect for the weeknights.

I marinated these drumsticks overnight in a mixture of fresh orange juice, onion puree, soy, brown sugar and a wee bit of cayenne. The orange juice tenderises the flesh of the chicken, allowing me to grill these babies in the oven without turning them dry and stringy. The slight acidity of the juice also tenderises the meat.

The couscous was even simpler - just boil a slightly higher volume of water than the weight of the couscous you want to use (I found that 150 grams of the grain worked great for the both of us, thus I needed about 175 mils of water), add some chicken stock concentrate, salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat off and tip the couscous in. Cover with a lid and leave for 3-4 minutes. After which, take off the cover, add a lump of butter and fluff with a fork, voila! serve. Easier than rice and healthier than instant noodles.

I decided to add a bit of green to the golden grain, so instead of just popping in plain butter, I sauteed some mustard greens and garlic in a larger lump of butter+oil that I usually need for one minute, turned the heat off then popped the whole thing into the couscous mixture, and mixed through.

AK totally approved of this meal, which is great. Wonderful couscous trial run - why didn't I try it our earlier, I have no idea. But to be sure, couscous is going to make more frequent appearences in our future meals! Now, if only I can find a store in Miri that stocks it...

Things I Need to Do This Weekend

So we're at the halfway mark. I am dragging myself towards the weekend.

There are tons of things I haven't done yet:

1) Finish unpacking (yes, I sitll haven't emptied my suitcase from our Thailand vacation
2) Re-do my Finances spreadsheet. #$&##&%$ lost hard disk - now I have to start all over
3) Send my Jim Thompson pieces for framing
4) Mending/altering! I have to "decen-size" some of my low necklines (instead of relying on safety pins, which I then forget to remove when washing the clothes and ends up rusting and ruining my stuff - yes, I am a slob and I know it) and mend my pencil case, which has had the hole in it since, well, forever.
5) Ironing
6) Get the grasscutter to my garden or else risk my plants being choked up by those darned weeds. Damn they're persistent.
7) Post our vacation photos for the world to see :P on Facebook, of course

Last weekend I indulged in afternoon naps and DVD marathons. A bit more productivity is needed this weekend.

Web Window Shopping - Evening Dresses on Sale

Look at these beauties! And the prices are looking mighty fine too after the markdowns.

I have a couple of weddings coming up, but after the Thailand blowout, should I be splurging so soon again?

Tadashi rose jersey off shoulder draped dress. Was USD305, now going for USD183. Love the draping, but am not so keen on the colour - looks a bit mature for me.

Look at the gorgeous draping at the back of dress:

Another number - the cobalt jersey asymmetric ruched sheath dress. Was USD328 now USD197. I like this colour better, but am afraid that my shoulders might be a bit too broad to look good on this one.

A more subtle version of the pleats by Nicole Miller. Also nice, but the colour is rather inappropriate for a dinner, doncha think? Seafoam? Army green?

Also maybe it's the pic, but the organza bottom half now looks a bit cheap.

And....drumroll.........!!

I want this one to be my wedding dinner gown!! - Marc Marc Bouwer GlamIt! butter pleated chiffon sequined one-shoulder gown.

Was USD695, now USD 417. Sigh, pity it's almost sold out except for the larger sizes.

Source for pictures: Bluefly.com

Inspirations from Chiang Mai - Lanna Decor@Rimping

I love the rustic decor of our hotel, which bore a striking resemblance to Peranakan houses.


Bamboo blinds in the little restaurant in the hotel. The furniture would look pretty juxtaposed against a more chic dining interior - with homogenous ceramic tiles and a crystal chandelier.


I like the aircon covers, the woven roof interior and exposed beams.



Peranakan-like coloured glass inserts ona feature wall in the lobby. Note the teracotta flooring.

View from outside the lobby.

Again, stained glass inserts, used for the washroom doors.

Here's what I did this weekend:

1) Took a long Sunday evening nap. Pure pleasure.

2) Went down to the lawyer's office to apply for the home loan on our latest property purchase

3) Had the maid over, our house is sparkling clean now

4) Made pork chops with homemade garlic and onion gravy. Aah the joys of supermarket
packaging - where they pre-cut and pack everything up so nicely for you, sparing you the agony of cleaning and trimming hunks of flesh on your own! Besides the chops, I also purchased (everything trimmed and ready) - a hunk of baby back ribs which I marinated in a Maggie seasoning, red wine vinegar, brown sugar and cayenne and 4 chicken drumsticks which I also have soaking in a combo of orange juice, sugar, soy and pepper. Food for the rest of the week. I also baked up a batch of brownies to satisfy my sweet cravings, which had me wolfing down 2 bars of chocolate over last week.

5) Had my own little 30 Rock marathon. Tina Fey absolutely rocks.

Now, back to work.

Inspirations from Chiang Mai - Brekkie@Rimping

Now, thanks to the company we work for, AK and I have sampled many a hotel breakfast. And I daresay that we have had some of the best Malaysia has to offer (The Westin KL, namely, with its Japanese, Chinese, Western, Malay, Indian spreads and its antioxidant berry-yogurt parfaits and fresh fruit juice to order). The buffet at our splurge hotel, the Indigo Pearl, was also pretty good.

But our experience in Chiangmai was very personal, and altogether very different from all the other ones.

Beautiful celadon ceramicware.



Instead of the normal buffet breakfast, we were presented with a menu from which we could choose anything we wanted.

While perusing the menu, the wait staff brought us a plate each of these adorable little swiss rolls, pandan and some-red-berry filling.

I chose the soup rice, or rice soup, which is like Cantonese porridge, with pork. A warm, wholesome way of starting the day.

AK chose the pad thai. We both love that it came with raw beansprouts, which went very well with the fried rice noodles.

And then - dessert! We were presented with mango sticky rice and platter of cut fruit, but sent back the fruit as, well, one can only eat so much in the morning.

The sticky rice came in convenient little cups for wolfing down. The mangoes were wonderfully sweet and fragrant.

The sad thing is, although we spent three nights here we only experienced this once, as our tours departed too early. The wonderful hotel staff packed sandwiches, fruit and juice for us, but of course you can't compare that to a multi-course made-to-order breakfast like this.

If only all mornings were like this!

Chiang Mai, we miss you.