In a hurry to eat moon cake?

Nowadays, the price of moon cake is simply unbelievable! Those imported from West Malaysia can easily cost more than RM12 each, ie, 2 pounds or US$3.5 each. Those in presentation pack can cost even more. This year, we received a box from my brother-in-law in KL (oh, just realise that I forgot to put it in this blog. Will do it soon) and another one from Miri. Otherwise, we will never buy them....well maybe.
The sales of moon cake was slow and I saw a lot of left over in the supermarkets. So, I expect discount, perhaps 50-60% off, but instead, they were going for just RM1.00 each. So...
we bought four of them for RM4.00 only whereby the normal price would have been more than RM48.00. However, the "bin pe" or snowy skin moon cake didn't look perfect. But for RM1, I wouldn't care as long as it was not rotten. And they did taste perfect!
So, if we are not too "fussy" over eating moon cake only before and not after the Mid Autumn festival, then just wait until everyone has their fill and you pick up the huge bargain later.

Our 27th Wedding Anniversary

We are lucky that Janice was at home and she baked a cake for our 27th wedding anniversary. Thanks Janice. This make this anniversary so special.
The three boys and Janice.
Darling wife and me...
Janice... thanks a million for being so thoughtful and surprises. And thanks for bringing some of the ingredients, especially the jelly, all the way back from UK.
(This is a belated post. I just realised that I have not posted it when I browse through my photos)

Exotic fruits from Sarawak

Sarawak is a land of plenty. The jungle here is actually a rich source of fruits and food. Therefore, it is no wonder that the natives of this place can live in the jungle without any problem.
This is sour eggplant. I understand that this can be found only in E.Malaysia. The taste is sour and the flesh is crunchy. When cooked, it become soft. The people here like to cook curry with this. I saw the Iban cook them in soup also. The taste is good...I actually like it but have never attempted to cook one myself.
This is a wild fruit. Someone nicknamed it as "canon ball". The Iban called it mauwan  (A reader told me that Iban normally pronounce it as buah "embawang"). The tree is tall... in fact very tall. I think it can grow anything like 40-60 feet. My mother told me that if this thing drop on one's head, it will be sure death!
My memories of this fruit was not positive. I remember having to dip it in sugar or else it was simply too sour. But now, after eating a few this season, I found that this fruit can be sweet. But it is very fibrous. So, if anyone has constipation, this fruit will definitely cure the problem!
The skin of this fruit is very thick. To open it, I need to slice the skin and peel it, exposing the flesh. Then I need to use my special knife to slice the flesh off. The trick is actually not to peel all the skin off otherwise it will then be too slippery to handle.
I came across this fruit - forgot the name. Anyone knows the name? (A reader told me that this fruit is called buah kundung). When I saw the fruit this season, I thought that it must be delicious as they look good.
When my Malay friend showed me how to peel the skin off, the taste instantly brought back memories. When I was young, I ate quite a lot of this fruit. It was everywhere but not anymore. The taste is also slightly sour. I can't actually describe the taste. All I can say is that it is unique!
These are some unique fruits available in E.Malaysia.

My Daughter Stephanie - Sushi Chef

My second daughter Stephanie enjoys making Sushi and baking cakes, especially cheese cake. She is very creative. Since small, she has been drawing cartoon! What I didn't realise is the fact that she also loves to cook, especially sushi. She had been working in a sushi restaurant.
Ok, see what she cook last weekend...
I don't know the name of the dishes. She did post them on her facebook.
It took her 5 hours to prepare these ... for four people!

Raw Salmon ... delicious!
That is her, Stephanie!
Long bean
Prawn salmon sushi

Mango yogurt cake
Triple layered cheesecake.

This is her final year of her medical school. I hope she will get good result and cook only to break the monotony of studies!

Hari Raya Open House at Piasau 100

Hari Raya Open House at Piasau 100 was cerebrated on 10 Oct 2009. There were ...
... performances .....

... graceful dances ...
... to the beating of traditional musical equipment.

Everyone was in a happy mood.

Most Expensive Private (Public) bridge

Anyone wishing to go from Miri to Brunei must use the Asian Bridge across the Baram river. This bridge was "privatised" to build and then collect toll. It must be due to the low traffic flow that the charges are so high. Just see... I think those using Penang bridge must feel relief now...

... there is opening hours to this bridge! If you miss the closing time, you have to sleep in the car during the last 20KM of your journey into the town. My friends from W.M. was stuck at this point and spend a night here!

See... no kidding!

By the way, I was stuck at the immigration on Brunei side once and had to spend a night on the road side feeding mosquitoes! The gate close at 10:00PM sharp! So be early.

Three Weeks gone ...

Esther came back for just under four weeks and before we realise it, it is time for her to go again! This year, all three girls came back. Like Kong said earlier, they are now like guest to the family. How true it is! The differences were that they helped to cook some meals and cook things that I would hesitate to attempt as I simply don't have the time!

Cheryl Yong, Esther, Lina

Ming Chu, Cheryl Chen, Esther, Yvonne

Esther manages to make some friends during this short period of time! She made sushi... She is quite an expert. At first, I cooked the rice for her and I didn't realise that the rice must not stick to each other. But I thought that they should stick. Without asking her, I added in some glutinous rice + too much water. So, it was soggy and cannot be used. The next day, she bought her own sushi rice!

She also made pizza. I don't think I have the time to put on so much goodies. So boys, you have run out of luck now! Only exception is if the boys can help me to make the dough.

She also cooked spaghetti for the boys. Grated cheese and grilled... (I roasted the chicken but Esther is also good at roasting)

...and Joshua tried to consume this big plate!

They made all kind of cheese cake. This one with yogurt and white chocolate which Stephanie brought back from UK. The white chocolate in Malaysia is nothing more than a block of fat! Just read the label on bar.

This one is brownie cheese cake...

Wild blueberry cheese cake.. she brought the blueberry conserve all the way from UK.

She will be going there for her final (fifth) year medical school. By May next year, she should have graduated! Time really flies. So many years have passed just like that....oh, old man is about to retire now.

Talking about old man, I have gone through two round of "reorganisation" in the company. This month would be the third time. I hope to survive this round...otherwise, I would be a full time photographer.

Stung by hornet

We have been hearing about hornet attack on a family of five which resulted in the death of 2 siblings and another one in critical condition. I just wanted to relate my own experience.
Two years ago, I was also stung three times by hornets. I can tell you that it was very painful! After the stung, I felt like fainting! I was in Sarikei at that time and was on my way to Sibu. I immediately went to Sibu and see a doctor. Guess what, my blood pressure shot up to 220! Normal is 120-130! No wonder people faint or die from such a sting.
My advice is never to venture into unknown bush or places where you are not familiar or you see big bees flying around!
Talking about bees, do you think that bees become aggressive when seeing unfamiliar people? I was in Sibu visiting my friend. I was walking along a path and suddenly a bee stung me! My friend, who has been staying there, was never bitten before! Tell me your experience if you have one.

Real beautiful roses ...

Yesterday's blog was "Roses ...." but I didn't really showed any roses. So, mummy was complaining that my title was not right! So, today, I make up for it. I hope you like the pictures of roses I took at Klaus and Elaine wedding...

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

No. 5

No. 6

No. 7

No. 8

Ok, if you don't mind, tell me which one you like. Thanks.
You may even put them on your computer wall paper. Just click on the rose you like, a higher resolution photo will be displayed. Right click on the image and "Save image as..." to save it to your local disk. Then open the image with Microsoft Paint and then "Save as wallpaper" or something like that. If you do save my images, I do appreciate it if you don't remove my watermark.

Roses, roses...everywhere

Yesterday there was a wedding ceremony of our church member (Klaus Sim and Elaine Tiong). I didn't realise it until a few days before the wedding. Unfortunately, I have an earlier photo shooting appointment with my friend. So, I was at the wedding ceremony late.
There were so many roses, real ones, everywhere! The wedding was unique. The first thing that shocked me was the number of photographers (all pro looking) and videographers!

So many photographers! The paid pro uses an extra wide angle lens and he was at the front a few inches from the couple!
Petals from roses to be showered on the newly wed while on their way out.
Flower girl Serene.

Filling up a "pot of love"! (Sorry, I didn't know what was this called)
"Love forever sealed"
Michelle, Serene, Caroline, mum Irene
Serene

Chloe Ngu (Hieng Kiing's daughter)

So, with the number of pro, it gave me an opportunity to relax and see how others work! Will blog about it later if there is opportunity. Some of the photos are now on my facebook.