Entries from May 2008 ↓

One day late, but here I am, wishing all mommy bloggers who read my blog a Happy Mother’s Day!

We don’t make a big deal of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in our family. We happen to be averse to crowds so we usually have our celebration dinner a week or two in advance. Last week, Mom had her do at her favourite Korean restaurant where we stuffed ourselves to the gills.

So, this week, on the actual Mother’s Day, we decided to keep dinner simple… well relatively so.

There was starter of fried black pepper prawns served with potato wedges.

Main entree was a medium rare grilled rib-eye steak marinated in black pepper and stout and served with a green salad and pasta.

And for dessert, we had a freshly baked cheesecake that everyone seemed to enjoy. The fact my Dad actually had a double helping and proclaimed it was “Not too sweet” despite my protests, told me it was a bit of a success!

I’m happy to report that my Mom and everyone else enjoyed the food tremendously, and we loved the idea of dining at home where we could sit around in comfort without having the hassle of driving around looking for parking and squashing with legions of other diners, and then taking out the bit of plastic to swipe an astronomical amount for sub-standard set menu food.

Besides, dining at home was also relatively cheap! I think I’m going to have to do something similar when Father’s Day comes around.

Yours fluffily

I know I have fans. I must have. That feedburner count doesn’t get that high if no one’s reading my daily… ok ok… not-so-daily fluff right?

Anyway, Wuching wanted to know about my fans.

By Wuching’s definition of fans, I have only 2 that span the ages of technology and nostalgia.

The Modern - wireless, remotely controlled gizmo wonder

Panasonic ceiling fan with remote control speeds. Cools a treat on hot days but is usually off because I get some strong winds up in my castle in the sky.

The Old - nostalgic, yesteryear still going strong.

Hands up who remembers this KDK table top fan from their childhood? You don’t see these around much anymore. This says its the deluxe model! I suppose its because it comes in 3 speeds.

I grew up with this fan that used to belong to my late grandma. As a kid, she would scream at us if we went too near it while it was on, lest we stick our fingers between the wire screen and have them lobbed off by the fan blades. Many years later, it was wrapped up and kept in the store room until some time last year when I asked my mom if there was a spare fan around the place. You see, I’m too stingy (and inefficient) to get an air conditioner fixed up in my “study” so I figured a table fan would do in the interim.

It does work, and it serves its purpose. And I get some pleasure and a big dose of nostalgia using it because the whirring it makes as it turns reminds me of the nights as a kid when I’d creep into my late gran’s room to sleep. I had a room of my own but I went through a phase when I couldn’t sleep unless it was in my gran’s room. So, yeah, this fan reminds me of those days.

Perhaps it should look a bit more like this:-

And those are the only 2 fans I have in my house.

Over to you to tell me about your fans:-

• Rinnah
• Giddy Tiger
• Andie Summerkiss

Yours fluffily

Here’s a screen capture of a news article taken from The Star online about MAS offering free air tickets within Malaysia.

Lets not get me started on why I don’t think MAS should descend to the level of a budget carrier like Air Asia and just buck up and start acting like a proper commercial airline. Free tickets are gimmicks budget airlines use but not everyone likes rushing for unassigned seats and hanging out in a low cost terminal which is essentially a large hangar. And that whole everyone can fly thing can really get to you when you are lining up like school kids waiting to be let through the gate so you can sprint the 100m to your plane and then “chup” all the seats for your friends. Bah!

So, don’t get me started Just look at the screen capture and tell me if The Star doesn’t love a little irony as much as I do?!

Did you catch it the first time?!

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake
Baker’s man,
Bake me a cake as fast as you can…

On Friday, I announced that I was going to bake a cake.

I dithered and hmmed and hawed over whether to actually do it, but in the end, I decided to bite the bullet and bake me my first cake ever. So, Saturday morning saw me driving around getting my ingredients (there are actually 7-11 stores that don’t sell eggs! And I don’t know how Mydin stays in business - they have nothing) and by 12pm after a hurried lunch I was ready to start.

Now, my friends, this was not just any cake. It was supposed to be a black forest cake. Yes, I’m ambitious - sue me!

About 40 minutes after throwing the cake batter into the oven, I knew something wasn’t right because I smelt a burning smell. The cake was a chocolate sponge mix but I knew chocolate did not smell like something burning. And yet, I remembered my mom’s reminder to NEVER OPEN THE OVEN DOOR WHEN BAKING A CAKE OR IT’LL COLLAPSE.

So, I peered at the cake through the glass, bit my fingernails and finally, could stand it no longer. So I opened the oven door and this was what greeted my horrified eyes. Continue reading →

On a whim, I decided to cough up RM18 and test out the GSC Signature cinemas at The Gardens. I’ll talk a lot here about the cinema first before I get to the movie so those who haven’t seen Forbidden Kingdom and who don’t like spoilers, can then leave before reading further. Aren’t I considerate?

Yes, no kidding. RM18 for a movie. It’d better be good

The GSC Signature cinema at The Gardens is GSC’s premier line of cinemas for those who don’t want to mingle with the masses and who want more comfort and are willing to pay for it. Each cinema is very small with only about 10 rows of seats. Each row only has 6 seats in pairs of 2 so you have 3 rows of seats. What this means is larger more comfortable seats. There is even a little table attached to the side of the chairs for your popcorn or snacks. However, because its so small, I felt that the screen was too small to do justice to a truly epic movie. It might be good for some light fun but not if you want to enjoy and truly appreciate the full effects of the movies.

I could curl up in the chair so yes, its a large comfy chair. The back can recline if you are heavy enough to cause it to. I can only make it recline if I physically push against it which makes for an uncomfortable time. But I’m ok with it even sitting upright.

The exterior of the cinema is kept dim. Perhaps, its to keep with the “premier” theme. After all, expensive and privileged places are always kept dim with low lighting. The ticket queue is practically non-existent which of course is great if you don’t want to stand in queue for hours to buy the usual RM11 ticket. Downstairs is a bar/cafe for drinks and snacks and the cinema halls are upstairs. There are only 5 premier halls and 1 Gold Class. Gold class tickets are RM60 each. I’d pay those prices if they run the Lord of The Rings trilogy back to back! Otherwise, forget it!

When you go upstairs, you’ll see your cinema hall number and the words “Now Seating” which will light up when its time to seat you. If its dim, its not ready. I’m not sure how that helps anything, but everyone there quietly waited until the light came on before approaching the ushers.

Even the popcorn is different. It comes in a black cup instead of the usual yellow box. Unfortunately, the popcorn was either not caramel coated, or not fresh. It tasted bland and musty. You know how cardboard tastes? No? Go pop some corn, don’t mix it with anything and chew on it. Now, you know how cardboard tastes. Awful! I don’t recommend the popcorn at GSC Signature.

For all the extra cost and air of exclusivity, I noticed that the place was subtly crowded. Yes even the crowds are classy No, its because the cinema halls are so small, that the crowds won’t overwhelm, no matter how crowded it gets. It makes going to the movies fun but a pricey affair.

GSC Signature premier cinemas at The Gardens are at the end near Robinsons. Take the escalators all the way up right to the top of the building, and you’ll see it… or maybe not. Its so “classy” and dim, its easy to miss, but for the subtle touches of some movie posters on the walls.

Now, read on for my take on Forbidden Kingdom the movie. Please leave now if you don’t like spoilers. Continue reading →