I hate being sick.  I'm coughing like mad and I can't talk at all except whisper loudly 

Other than that, I met a guy.  Smart, funny, pleasant looking (alright, he's hot, ok?) . . . basically all the right stuff but I don't think I can go for him. . . my dear cousin likes him a lot (and she's liked him for a year but he just broke up with his girlfriend of 9 years a few months ago).  My brother told me that he's not interested in my cousin. . . but dang, its tough, y'know.  Anyway, he's already asked me out.  I guess I can go and see what happens.  Just wondering if I should tell my cousin first. . . dang dang dang, she's gonna take it badly  (she's of the super sensitive sort).

This past weekend, I went with Orpheus Dive to dive Kuantan Wreck, West Malaysia.  Got dropped off at Mersing. . . slept on board. . . 8 hours or so later.  Wreck Diving.

Dive 1:  Was so scared cos the surface current was quite rough.  After some coaching, managed to descent.  Visibility not so great but the experience of handling myself in this kind of current was priceless.

Dive 2 & 3:  Wreck dive specialty.  Had to enter the wreck. . . so dark, too dark.  Did it anyway.  Proud of myself.  hehe  saw my first moray eel, and marble ray.

Dive 4 & 5:  Reef diving 4 hours away.  So much calmer. . . completed my boat dive specialty.  Saw my first turtle, garoupa, and crown of thorns.

Did a photoshoot for friends' restaurant.  Its a Thai restaurant called Sup Sip in Indonesia.  These photos are untouched.  Which do you think looks good enough to eat?

1)  Crispy Seabass on Rice  A-Above or B-Below?

Pad Kee Mao - I'm pretty happy with this shot.  Afterall, nothing else you can do to pretty up a stirfry.

2)  Prawn Balls - H-Horizontal or V-Vertical?

3)  Steamed Tapioca with Coconut Milk - With or Without Sesame Seeds?

I'm pretty happy with this shot too.  Its a Thai Beef and Green Beans Stir Fry with Rice and a Sunny-Side up Egg.

My fellow foodie friends and I decided to visit this part of Jakarta where there is an insane amount of good food.  It's street food at its finest.  We call today our 1st Bi-Annual Resto Hopping Day.  We even brought our own wine. . . and wine glasses.  It was so funny to see ppl staring at us like we're freaks.

Stop #1
Goal:  Satay

Yummy Pork Satay and Yummier Pork Skin Satay.  Drizzled with Kecap Manis, Fried Garlic slices, and fish shavings.  We squeezed some limes to complete the masterpiece.  The meat was nice and only slightly charred. . . perfectly cooked, not overdry like most satays I've had.


Preserved Mustard green soup with pork broth.  Garnished with a chunk of crushed garlic, it could use a tad bit more salt, but otherwise, just nice.  I love this soup with rice.


The wine at Stop #1.  This wine is from me. . . Spanish.  80% Temperanillo.  Sweet and mild.  Perfect with the satay, though some of the guys thought it was too sweet. 

Stop #2
Goal:  Egg Noodles with Seafood and Gravy


The complimentary Otak Otak.  It is steamed fish paste.  We didn't have any cos it wasn't our goal.  hehe


Deep fried pork skin.  Its a side dish.


This is called Acah.  Its chilis, cucumbers and onions marinated in vinegar.  Not my favorite, but the rest of the folks were inhaling it like nobody's business.


Lamb Satay with a different kind of sauce.  This one's almost like an asian version of bechamel but with soy sauce.  Soychamel?  heehee  Garnished with fried shallots, I love the texture and I love lamb.


The noodles we came for.  It was interesting as the seafood flavor was more intensed that I had imagined.  Tasty though a little too wet for my liking.


The wine we paired with Stop #2. . . hands down, my favorite wine of the night.  YUMMMM!!!!!! 
Ooops!!  This wine was with Stop #3.    Thanks, A, for the pointing out the error.

Stop #3
Goal:  Crabs and Seafood


The belachan for us to dip the seafood.  OOoh!!!  Spiceeeee!!!


Char-grilled fish, basted with Kecap Manis.  With a hearty squeeze of lime juice, this was excellent.


A slice of heavenly fish.  I wish I could photo-shop it a bit to show you the true color.  So moist, so tender and fluffy.  DELISH!


Black-Peppered crabs.  Deep fried and then stir-fried again to get the nice black-pepper sauce to coat it.  Other than being a little too peppery, it was delicious.  Almost perfect.


A new TRICK!!!!  After eating seafood, wash with toothpaste to get rid of fishy smell.  It works!

The wine for Stop #3.  Decent, but my taste buds were still singing #2's praises.
Ooops!!  This is the wine for Stop #2.

Stop #4
Goal:  Duck Noodles

This was a complimentary fried noodle round. . . has a sweet glaze.  Don't know what it tastes like as no one wanted to fill their tummies with "distractions".

This is also comp. . . its a salty Asian version of a peanut brittle.  We eat it like crackers.

The Duck Noodles. . . other than being loaded with MSG, its actually rather tasty.  The duck was not overcooked and the vegetables and garnishes were nice and crunchy.

Stop #5 (aka Final Stop)
Goal:  Shaved Ice Dessert

By this point, we were insanely full.  But J insisted on the dessert and swore that its awesome.  I am not much of a dessert person but it was pleasant.  The palm sugar syrup over the ice gave it a nice warm and comforting feel, the nuts and dried fruits played nicely with the entire ensemble.  Then again, who doesn't like shaved ice on a hot night?

J decided to order this rice noodle. . . claimed it to be the best. . . but also wanted us to try different noodle dishes.  Firstly, can't really compare with previous dishes cos they're all different.  I like this noodle best cos everything's perfectly cooked.  The veggies weren't undercooked, the meat weren't overcooked, and the noodle had texture. . . not overly mushy.  I didn't detect any msg and it was nicely seasoned.

By this time, we were so buzzed that I couldn't remember if we had anymore wine.  I think I gained a kg that night but I'll lose it again no problem, but I know the memory of the fun adventurous foodie hunt will remain forever.  Can't wait for next Resto Hopping Day.

EDIT:  Just realized an error. . . the 2nd wine listed was actually paired with the 3rd wine.  So, the 3rd wine was the best one.  hehehe

A tiny fruit that tastes like Passion fruit.

This last weekend was spent in the jungle in Sanggata.  Went to check on the plantation work.  My company has part ownership in Palm Tree Plantation. . . we're in the clearing stage.  For those who are environmentally conscious, you'd be happy to know that we have people scouting the area and moving the animals deeper into another section of our land where we will leave untouched so that the animals have a place to live.  OOH!!  We found this huge and very tall tree with giant sized bee hives on the branches. . . we counted 15 but can't see the back of the tree.  My guys told me that they were a little late in discovering the hives as the bees had just migrated to another area.  Apparently these bees come once a year.  Next year, we might get to harvest some wild honey!!!  That tree is protected property now.  YEAY!!! 

While I was well-fed, I did long for healthier fares.  In any case, the below photos will show you how well-fed I was.  I gained a kg 

Note:  Sorry the photos aren't photoshopped. . . so they are as is. 

On our way to the plantation, we stopped by to grab some snacks. . . Fresh coconuts, fried chicken, and grilled prawns (YES, I said Prawns, not those tiny shrimps. . . those big ones!)

Sweet and tender.  Perfect coconut.


Their inventory of coconuts


These prawns were so perfectly cooked. . . the shells were so crispy you could eat them too, yet the meat was nice and not overcooked.  We dipped them in Kecap Manis (Sweet soy sauce) and Belachan (Super Spicy Shrimp Chili Paste). . . if I wasn't so full, I'd eat more.  ^_^


The beautifully fried chicken with belachan.  I think they rubbed it with sliced garlic cos I couldn't find any traces of garlic but the chicken was wonderfully fragrant with strong suggestion of garlic.  Or maybe they fed the garlic to the chicken!!!!!

 
At camp 1, our lovely cook prepared dinner for us.
Top to bottom. . . breaded and deep fried shrimp, fried fish with tomato sauce and onions, stir fried green beans with garlic and kecap manis, another fried fish.


Closer shot of the fried fish with tomato sauce and onions


Our green bean dish.  Did I mention they are grown in the little garden by the camp?  FRESH green beans.    so yummy


2nd night, we drove out into the "city" and had some Padang food.  This is our spread.  Lots of greens, oxtail soup, chicken curry, pork skin curry, intestine curry, beef rendang, shrimp with belachan, veggie curry, and fried fish with belachan.  Hmmm. . . I'm missing something.  hehe  Padang food requires no menu.  They place ALL the dishes in front of you, and you just pick and eat the ones you want, and those you don't touch is not calculated into your bill. . . and the next table gets your untouched food.  Yummy for more?  It sounds so unsanitary but I've never gotten sick and its seriously one of my favorite food ever.


3rd night, we had dinner back at camp.  Above picture:  Our dinner spead.
 

Green beans stir-fried with with chili padi, shrimp, garlic, and tempeh. 


More fried fish.  Apparently, fried fish is served to special guests and directors.  Otherwise, no fish for the ppl.  The closest place to buy fish is at the shore. . . 1.5 hours away.  Each fish costs about 25 cents.


Deep fried Egg plants. . . they are pretty much placed in the very hot oil for less than 30 seconds.  I dipped it with shrimp paste and kecap manis.  I don't usually like eggplants but these were wonderful and a great delight to my taste buds.


Did I mention I picked the eggplants with my barehands?  hehehe  maybe that's what made it more satisfying.  Self-grown, hand-picked. . .

I picked more green beans and plucked some chilis too. . . but forgot to shoot them til it was too late.  Already in the wok.  hehe  These will do.


Mangoes from the trees behind the camp.  Sweet and tart.  I prefer my mangoes chilled.  Also, they were a little under-ripe.


OUR COOK!!  She cooks for 50 workers daily.  She's the mommy of the camp.

I know its a little late (okok, a lot). . . in any case, I'm finally adding my notes to these pictures.   

This beautiful stew is from this Lebanese restaurant in Barcelona.  Little tender chunks of lamb and white beans, its almost a Chili but not as spicy.  SUPER YUM!!

 
Another dish from Lebanese restaurant. . . a steak salad. . . that white sauce you see drizzled over the nicely grilled steak tasted like a mayo and mustard dressing but less heavy.  They couldn't understand my Spanish, and alas, vice versa.  Otherwise, I'd tell you what it is.  HAHA

Some kind of Lebanese puff. . . the filling consists of pork, veggies and cardamom.  Not my favorite, buy my brother lapped it up and claimed it the Lebanese Curry Puff (but there's no curry)

This was their steamed rice with some angel hair and mized herbs sprinkled.  Rather tasty, it blended so well with the other dishes.

Pork Stew. . . very hearty, very yummy.  When I poked it with my fork, it fell!!!  WEEEE!!!

This glorious dish is from a Spanish restaurant on the street.  I didn't see the name but I know what it looks like.    French beans sauteed with ham and potatoes.  Man oh man, so tasty I still dream about it.  In fact. . . hungry now.

Same Spanish restaurant. . . Fish and Potatoes.  The fish was breaded slightly and deep fried.  I love the breading but thought the fish over-cooked.  The sauce was almost like a mornay sauce but I can't figure out what's missing.

OOOH!!! A Deli/Bakery/Gelateria right in the center of Barcelona.  Lookie all the delicious gelato colors.  I had toothache, so didn't get one.    But W said it was lovely and cold. . . and not too sweet.

 
Their display of gorgeous pastries

Apparently Love is their current theme

CHOCOLATE and NUTS COVERED CONE!!!!  I want I want!

The next few dishes are from the restaurant that's reputed to have the chef who oversaw the making of the biggest paella in the world.  Their best is the pasta paella. . . the calamari is delicious, the grilled mushrooms simple and satisfying, excellent pisoli, best seafood soup ever. . . but definitely the BEST PAELLA I've ever EVER tasted.  And I've had a load of paella in my life.  Sigh. . . Paella.

Tell me that is not beautiful. . . the color, the fresh seafood. . . the spices, the flavor. . . the perfectly cooked pasta/macaroni.  I can't wait to return to Valencia just for this paella.

Was in Spain in Feb for about a week.  5 days in Valencia for an exhibition, and 1 .5 days in Barcelona.  Here are some of the wonderful foods I was lucky to get my hands on.

Look at how red these shrimps are.  Its prepared simply by steaming with a little salt and garnished with lemons.  Boy oh boy, they were SWEEEEEET!!

This is the classic Italian dish of Parma ham and mozzarella cheese chunks.  Yes, yes.  I know I'm in Spain.  This restaurant was near our hotel and it was FAB!!!  La Luna Rosa is the name.

Steamed mussels garnished with parsley, chopped tomatoes, and freshly ground black pepper.  Not a mussel fan, but none of the shelled fish after taste that I don't like.

Clams and Linguini.  The linguine is made of squid ink liguine and semolina linguine.  A lovely light and not overly creamy clam sauce, this dish's only fault is its portion.

Deep fried shrimp garnished with lemon halves.  They are deep fried to point of such crispness that the shells are like chips, YET the meat is not over cooked.  Not an easy feat by itself, yet the chef manages to pull it off while maintaining another Italian simplicity at its finest.

I feel horrible that I don't remember the name of this restaurant.  A wonderful hole in the wall restaurant by the Valencian pier, they serve EXCELLENT paella.  Not too heavy, the spices bring out the best in the seafood by not overwhelming our senses.  So good that I took 3 shots of it.

A classic Valencian salad.  Like a cobb salad, it is an assembled salad.  Contains tomatoes, olives, sliced boiled eggs, carrot juliennes, lettuce, arugula, radishes, juliennes of beets, fennel, and TUNA (my favorite part).  Drizzled with NOTHING.  So simple, so satisfying, I do miss it so.

The Spanish classic of shrimp, garlic, olive oil, and parsley.  OH!!  The Shrimp scampi.
(NOTE:  Scampi means shrimp. . . leave it up to the foreigners to screw up YET another language) ^_^

The Spanish way of Calamari. . . battered, deep-fried, a kind of tar-tar sauce, lemon wedges, and deep-fried peppers.  The significance is that they use every part of a squid; head, tentacles, etc.  Muy Delicious!!

Another version of their signature steamed mussel dish.  Its so fresh you can still taste some of the sea. . . then again, they said that they steam it with salt water to make you think of the sea.

Ok, gonna go load up the remaining photos. 

Barcelona kicks ass!!!!!

I HEART SPAIN!

A little late I know, but nevertheless HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!  Lots of good munchies this year, lots of big fat Hong Baos too.  ^_^

I have to say I outdid myself (or at least that's what everyone said). . . full spread for 50 ppl or so.  The hits were the Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Soup), Char Siew (Chinese Bbq Pork), and loads of desserts.  As usual, due to hectic schedule, didn't take many photos.  Sigh. . . every compliment is followed by: your food so good, why no one want you?  Don't be picky, lah. .. just get married already. . . you're already so old. . . blah blah blah. 

I did at least manage to get these. . .

Char Siew (freshly off the oven). . . look at the beautiful glaze.  And it was DELISH!!!

Here's my dessert platter. . . Triple Chocolate Fudgy Brownie, Bread Pudding with sticky toffee sauce, and Vanilla ice cream.

NOTE:  Having a tough time uploading the photos.  Will try again later.

GONG XI FA CAI!!!

Edited:  Here are the 2 photos I promised.

Chinese BBQ Pork. . . 6 hours of loving labor

Triple Chocolate Fudgy Brownies with French Vanilla Ice Cream, and Bread Pudding with Whisky Sauce

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 movies on this list. Copy this list, go to your own xanga account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen and add them up. Have fun!

My Ginger Peoples!

The 4 Musketeers

A slightly damaged leaf
 

Leaf with pretty dinosaur prints
(compliments of Lea)

Gingerbread Xmas Trees
 

 A Spicy Gingerly Wave to Wish Everyone Happy Holidays!