Tourist In Hometown

Hey pals, have you ever come across such situation where you need to be a tourist in your hometown?! Well, it did give me some hard times when my friend planned to come over Penang, Malaysia for holidays!! A warmth welcome for the special guests, ShanMin and ShuMin from our neighbour land, Singapore.

I've to hook up to the net and google for some local tourist spots...but those attractions can't really interest me much as being a local, there isn't anything much to see?!! ShanMin keep asking me why is the place is not worth-going, why is the area not reachable and so forth. Arh...FM is having headache! She tells me that I need to think like a tourist, not from the locals' point of view! Ermm, OKIE~ **FM is discontented**!! Haa....

I sort of complaining this to Bee and she convinced me back with just a single and simple good reason --> They are my FRIENDS! Thanks dear, you've got the point...and I will always listen to you...Muacks!! Yeap, they are indeed my friends, so I need to learn to be a good tour guide and put on a good smile to all the Penang visitors!

First tourist spot that I could think of is...Fort Cornwallis. Actually, this is my second trip to this well-supported tourist spot since my first time when I was in primary...!

British Fort and Canon...

Tour guide for the S'poreans!! I'm paid with double! LOL...

ShanMin had a request for me to bring them to the film-taking spot in Church St., Penang. I was like...is there any special? But, the reminder kicked in --> we must think and see from tourist-point of view. Alrighty, be a good girl and I shall grant your wish...Here we go to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion! Somehow I feel ashamed of myself, how could I don't know the road in Penang but yet I'm a Penangite! Arh girls, please forgive me...I will train harder and learn by heart next time!

Baba-Nyonya Style Mansion over 100 years ago

Window to the heaven...

Walking Down the Alley of Time...

If only I could Turn Back Time...

The SG people is hard to be satisfied...:P Therefore, I brought them to our proud beach at Batu Ferringhi!! The weather is just suitable for outdoor activities and everyone seems so happy to be here to enjoy the smooth, cooling breeze...

Golden sunset view at dusk...Looking at the sky, longing for someone special! I really miss you!

Coming to the Food Heaven without having authentic delicious food is just can't be compromised! I'll just show some photos here because...Penang is full of local delicacies! If you want to know more, come here and you will get to savour all of these great gifts from the locals!

Nyonya-style Chicken Masak Lemak@Mama's

Oyster Pan-cake....Crispy, crunchy, tasty, yummy and dreamy!

Mouth-melting Tiramisu@Bella Italia...Simply Irresistable!

Well, I hope my performance is satisfied for the much-demanding guests!! Hee...I am more than happy to see you guys again! Next time will be my turn to invade the Lion City...!! Thanks for visiting ya!

POCKY Zone:

Pocky Dessert - Tiramisu Flavour

Remembrance of Daddy:

Dear Dad, these few days have been emotional for everyone in the house, we keep thinking about you and all the ups and downs that we had together are etched indelibly in our mind! Really thanks for everything that you have done for me...Love ya lots!! 

Alright, it is time for me to help out in the kitchen!! Crispy Pork Belly, please wait for me to turn you to be a great dishieeee...Till then, I will be back to blog more in frequent...Cheers buddies!!

Love,
Kev XOX

Sweet Cravings - Banana All-Mighty!!

Hello fellas, how's it going?? Its Sunday March 21st...I know some of you will just think about the upcoming working week! But, not for me, because I'm going to fully utilize my last day of the weekends here!! Recently, the Cookie Monster has been baking alot for her houssies!! One good reason that she gave was...Sweet Cravings!! Hmm, yea, it is such a great excuse for that huh!! So do I, I'm craving for sweet stuffs like desserts so BADLY!! I did hesitate if my current oven functions well...and shortage of baking utensils could be another worst nightmare that I've ever faced before~ Well yea, ignore it and let's do it!!

Fortunate enough to have this dear buddy to help me out with all the cutting works...

Awesome German cut-ware since 1731 -- Zwilling J.A. Henckels

After about 120mins of mixing+baking time and having a havoc in the kitchen, let me show ya...

The Mighty....errr...wait a second, take a look at this first!

Can you guess what I've baked?! **Hint: Look at the thin yellowish line...

The Mighty Banana Loaf with Cranberries~ A healthy option for all the sweet-tooth!! Thanks for the great work, Oven pal~

Mouth-watering?! Take orders? Nah...I will only bake for someone...**Giggling**

Yeap, that's my great Sunday noon...I just want to try my best to make everyone smile with my small little influential effort!! Well, Johnathan just called me up for the futsal session at 5pm! Arh...I need to get going and continue with my read up! It is just a week away till I have my Trade Finance Exam!! Wooot....\O.o/ Till then, I will catch up with you all again soon~~!! Cheers mates!!

P/S: Please stay tune for the recipe, I will update it in this same post too!

Recipe Corner:

Ingredients:

• 150g butter
• 1 tsp of salt (No salt is needed if salted butter is used)
• 120g of sugar (Alter to your liking as banana is sweet too)

Others:

• 3 eggs
• 270g self-raising flour
• 120-140mL of full-cream milk
• 3 well-smashed ripe banana
• Dash of vanilla essence and cinnamon sugar power

Options:

• Dry fruits (e.g. cranberries, raisins)
• Chocolate shavings for decoration and taste

Methods:

1. Add the combination A and mix well in a prepared batter bowl.
2. Add 3 eggs, each at a time and mix well with the batter.
3. Sieve 270g self-raising flour into the batter. 
4. Add in the well-smashed banana and mix 'em with the batter.
5. Add the prepared milk into the batter (adjust based on the softness/moisture of the desired cake/according to personal likings)
6. Add a dash of vanilla essence and cinnamon sugar powder if possible.
7. Pre-heat oven at 180 Celsius for 5 minutes.
8. Turn mixture into prepared baking pan and bake in oven at 180 Celsius for 40 to 50 minutes or until done when the wooden skewer comes out clean. Decorate with chocolate shavings or icing sugar on top of the cake.

Original recipe by Shyang - The Food Monster~

POCKY Zone:

Latest Limited Edition Pocky - Apple Yogurt

Love,
Kev XOX

What RM400 can offer...The start of SG TRIP!!

Yo buddy, its been a while since my last shout-out ya...! Many things have happened in these 2 months, I have gone through ups and downs and finally I have reached a turning point in my life...! Well, I will be moving back to Penang and work starting mid of Dec! It is time for me to spend my time with my precious family, after going away from home (studied in Brissy, Aust) for 3 years and working in KL for 8 months~ I miss my daddy...**shyang and whole family will always remember you, my greatest dad**

Alright, let me get back to this post...why am I putting "RM400" as the title of this post? It is all about my absurdity in taking things for granted :(  I thought I manage to catch my rushing flight to S'pore (supposed to be 2.35pm) in time, but I was late to check-in for 10mins...(last check-in time will be 45mins before departure time)!! How silly I am...In the end, I have to burn my RM70 ticket and get the new one (for RM300) T_T....Not only the ticket, I have wasted LCS's FAST&FURIOUS driving trail all the way to LCCT from Damansara for just 50mins...He even revved his lil dear car up to 160km/hr, just to reach the terminal before the closing time...ARH, I should have left my office earlier! That's my own personal fault and all has to be blamed on myself....SAD!!!

The speedometer has reached the limit - 160km/hr















That's the ever-famous LCS...posing with the fire-sparks!!

That superb costly ticket is able to offer me a day-trip around Nilai city, with yummy Ipoh style Beansprout Chicken rice as compliment meal~ All I have to say is...Thanks buddy, for helping me running errand for the whole day!! I'm now blogging in Low Cost Carrier Terminal, KL (LCCT) while waiting to get on board...

This lesson has taught me or maybe everyone: Do not take things for granted, must always plan things ahead with some allowances in between and of course, Everything happens for a reason!! **Wink**
Till then, I will blog more about my Adventurous yet Rushing trip to S'pore!

Consolation reward...The Aston Martin DB9 along the way to LCCT.

Love,
Kev XOX

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Homemade White Sauce Pasta

Hey mates, here I back again...Why so late? Can I use back the same reason - I am just simply BUSY? Haa...I was chatting with my greatest buddies back in Aussie (JZ and PW). It's so hard to have such golden chance to sit down and chat virtually over the internet. Oh ya, I am really delighted to be able to meet my boss - JZ and his dear (LM) @The Curve, Damansara last week. Really miss the life back in Brissy, boss...I want to go back!!!!!!


Sweetish Red Velvet Cake@The Laundry, The Curve


JZ with his dear, LM...Lovely birds!


The reunion of the food monster and his "boss"...

When we were talking about our life back in Brissy, JZ suddenly popped up with a question whether I can teach his dear to cook my signature dish - Homemade white sauce pasta. Without any hesitation, I just verbally described those ingredients and the steps for that recipe. But, I have promised them to publish this luscious recipe for people to savour this wonderful dish whenever they want...Come, make a wish and I will grant you one!!!

When people mention about pasta, what would you think at first? A staple food from Italy? Red sauce is the only sauce available for pasta? Pasta is actually a generic term for variants of noodles, food made from a dough of flour, water and with/without eggs. Pasta can be served in red sauce (often calls as Bolognese or Napolitan style), white sauce (Carbonara style) or even used in making soup.


Varieties of pasta...

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Homemade White Sauce Pasta (Carbonara Style)


Angel Hair White Sauce Pasta with Grilled Butter Fish (Thin like hair pasta)

Ingredients:

General Pasta & Others

• A packet of pasta of your choice (Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Angel Hair, Spirals and etc.)
• Olive oil or cooking oil
  
• 1 medium size of onion (chopped)
  
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200g of Bacon cubes
• 2 capsicums (green, red or yellow)
• 2 chopped tomatoes

For white sauce

• 4 tablespoons of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 cups of fresh full-cream milk
  
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt, pepper (alter for individual liking)
• Italian herbs or other dry herbs
• Optional: White wine for extra luxurious fragrance

Procedures:

1. Firstly, boil a pot of water for cooking the pasta. **Remember: Don't put oil into the pot of water but only 10g (2 tsp) of salt per 1 litre or (2 pints) can be used as a rule of thumb for seasoning** When the water comes back to a rolling boil, add in the pasta and give it a good stir to keep the pasta pieces from sticking to each other. Cook about 12-15 minutes, for al dente or chewy texture, taste, or break open a piece of pasta to test for doneness. Drain the pasta and retain a cup of pasta water for later use.
2. Secondly, Put some oil on the heating pan and add in all the bacon cubes. Fry until slight golden brown colour. Add in both chopped onions and garlic cloves, then fry together with the bacon cubes.
3. Put in the chopped capsicum and tomatoes to stir-fry together until it is slightly soft. Remove all the ingredients from the pan and put aside for later use.
4. For making the sauce, start by adding the melted butter on the hot pan, follow with the flour - a little at a time - the mixture will thicken up to the consistency of wall paper paste (roux). When the roux has turned from yellow to white, then you can start adding milk - a little at a time - until it is enough for the whole cooked pasta. Put in salt and pepper for taste. Then, add in herbs or white wine on personal preference.
5. When the sauce is slightly boiling, add in the cooked pasta and the pre-cooked ingredients. Mix well until all the noodles are coated with the thick white sauce. **That's why I don't add oil into cooking pasta noodle**
6. Magical Step: Add in the cup of pasta water and stir the pasta for 1 minute. Switch off the stove and the pasta is ready to be served. Topped with shredded Parmesan cheese if you are dairy-product person...

References:
1. Learn Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes For Everyday Cooking
2. Pasta from Wikipedia
3. Pasta Recipes Collection
4. How To Cook Proper Pasta - Al Dente

P/S: By following this recipe, you can easily have a homemade pasta meal in under an hour - any day, any time of the week...You can always expand your imagination by substituting the ingredients or pasta type to make your fully own pasta...


Angel Hair pasta (from Cold-Storage sales) and present from Adelaide - Garlic&Herb Fettuccine pasta (Thanks to my houssie - Ernest)

Arh, its 15 minutes to 12 midnight and my stomach is growling! Gotta go to bed to resist having any thought of grabbing a biscuit to munch...Alright buddies, thanks for reading such recipe and please try it out for yourselves. Do throw some questions if you have, I will try my best to answer 'em all~ Till then, ciao and a presto~

Love,
Kev XOX

Everything happens for a Reason~

Holaa...mates, how's it going? I know I know, I have been MIA for almost 2 months hay! Ermm, can I use "BUSY" to summarize things up? I guess all of you out there must be %@#%^*...Alright, calm down please...I will elaborate more in this post!

"Everything happens for a reason", it was chosen as the title for this post because the phrase is so bizarre but yet too good to be true. I am gonna thanks to the Empress Bee for inspiring me to have such thoughts. We will always think that why things have to turn out in this way, can't it be better outcome or at least some satisfying and persuasive results. I will let those photos to demonstrate all my experiences that I have gone through in these recent years!

Incident 1: Why did I leave my friends behind and studied in Aussie Land in year 2005?
Reason: Because its my childhood dream if I have the chance to further my study and broaden my exposures in Australia, especially Brisbane...this reminds me of my 1st ever family trip to a western country back in year 1997.


My childhood friends...get to know them since primary school...We have had lots of wonderful memories...KL trip (2005)


Cute guys with smillies...Grab one, girl? (Main's birthday - 2005)


UCSI Biotech Gang (2005)

Incident 2: Why am I being called as Food Monster? **Thanks to Optimus Team in Brissy**
Reason: Because I was being raised up in an environment that is full of food choices, both eastern and western cuisines. The people there have high expectation on anything that is going into their mouth and the kids out there are spoilt for choices.

In addition, the lifestyle of my family that is always opting for better and more delicious food to please our high-demanding tummies. I always try my best to learn and pick up the proper cooking skills to prepare great meals for all my friends during my living in Aussie, really miss it much...I am sure those happiness and enjoyable expressions are the best gifts for every chefs...!!
Yes, kitchen is always my great place to try out some food creations~

**Beware of all the mouth-watering food photos...please keep out of reach of those starving people out there**


Traditional chinese cuisine - DimSum (2007)


Penang delicacies in Swatow Lane@Penang (2007)


Creamy, dreamy and yummy chocolate experience@Max Brenner, Melbourne (2006)


Premium sashimi platter@Sono, Brisbane, Australia (2007)


Super meaty meal@Handorf, Adelaide, Australia (2008)


Gigantic yet finger-licking good Fergburger@Queenstown, New Zealand (2009)

There are still millions of food pics which I decided not to upload as they will bring up some serious problems... :P
Just to sum this up, I Love Food...its just that simple~

Incident 3: Why am I so proud of being a Penangite ?
**For your info, a resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite**
Reason: Penang island is a paradise for food lovers who come from all over the world to sample the island's unique cuisine, earning Penang the nickname of the food capital of Malaysia.

Moreover, I have all my childhood memories in Penang, from the day I was born, going through different stages of life and even until now... It is true that Penangites are the hardest people on Earth to get satisfied with their daily staples.
We, as Penangites, are always having high expectations on the food, in terms of taste, flavour, fragrance, outlook and pricings...Agree with me?! **Giggling**


The signature transport in Penang --> Penang Ferry has been serving people since 1920 and even until now!! Salute...


The Proud of the Pearl of the Orient - Penang Bridge (completed in 1985)


A must-eat for every Penangite --> Hokkien Noodle (a.k.a. Noodle with rich prawn broth)


Golden Laksa@Balik Pulau, Penang --> Fat Vermicelli with shredded Kampung Fish Broth~

Besides that, we have numerous shopping centres that are able to compete with KL, the capital city of M'sia...Namely Gurney Plaza, Queensbay Mall, Aeon Seberang Prai, Time Square Penang and Komtar...We should be proud of ourselves, right?

Incident 4: Why did I make up my mind to leave Australia, waving goodbye to all my best mates in Brissy in year 2009?
Reason: Because all my family members are here in Malaysia and I need to admit the reality that I have to move on in my life...My last trip back in Brissy was really mesmerizing~ I will never forget all the wonderful moments that have gone through in these 3.5 miracle years with my best buddies in Aussie, you guys ROCKS~!!

Below are those unforgettable photos taken in Down Under...


A tropical boy's 1st time stepping on a snowy ground - Skiing@Mt. Buller, Melbourne, Australia (2006)


My 1st time action in the sky...SkyDiving@Queenstown, New Zealand (2009)


Summer trip@Dreamworld, Gold Coast, Australia (2007)


Nice shot, HW@Albany, Perth, Australia (2007)


Jump up high, buddies!!@Rainbow Beach, Sunshine Coast, Australia (2008)


Singing High@Sunnybank, Brisbane, Australia (2007)


Farewell dinner@Pane e Vino@Brisbane City, Australia (2009)


Posing with the pharmacy people@UQ, Brisbane, Australia (2009)


Farewell outing with the Optimus Team@Brisbane Square, Australia (2009)
From left: Darren, Me, Jenny, Millie and Chermaine


Of course my best mates ever...Ernest, me and JZ@Mondo, Brisbane, Australia (2008)

Once I have return to home country, it means I need to catch up with all my friends back as much as possible...Gotta find back all the laughters and have more great time with all of ya~


Awesome group of friends known since primary school@Tao (2008)


Gathering with CLP buddies@Winter Warmers (2009)
From left: AhGoo, HooiTing, SzeHuay, Lipin, me and LCS

In short, everything happens really for a reason, if not, few reasons...We need to think wisely, make decision precisely and plan things ahead to avoid any possibilities that lead to failure. That is my thoughts about it...How about you guys out there?

Yeap, I have promised to all my friends that I will try all my best to keep contact with them...please count on me, folks...Wish you good luck in your undertakings, people...
Arh, its time for lil Kev to keep moving on, have to work tomorrow *Yawn*!! Till then...

Love,
Kev XOX