2 days before Christmas...

... and I'm stuck in the office.

Am finishing up some things and hopefully I'll get to leave early today. We have a superbusy schedule to follow.

- Last night, we were in church to put up the Christmas decorations. 4 of us didnt stay long though because Fatteh was getting agitated. Ended up at a newly-discovered Japanese restaurant in Jaya One called Hanazen. (pics and review to come)
- Tonight it's a French dinner with Victoria. (mental note to self to take pictures)
- Tomorrow is a busy day. Sis and I need to bake some cupcakes and cookies for our outreach thingy after the Christmas midnight mass. And then there's Mass as well. If all goes well, I hope to be in bed by 3am.
- Christmas Day is another busy affair. Have a couple of homes to visit throughout day and to spend time with family.

I think I'll need the next 4 days after this to recuperate. Thank God we're checking into the Hilton.

My checklist of things I need to blog about:
- Hanazen review
- Yarn update: My latest stash of yarnies from the Plucky Knitter arrived last week and I have yet to take pictures of them!
- Pictures from last week's Christmas carolling party at home.
- My Laduree macaroons from Harrods.

Short knit update:
- Juniper Syrian shawl - almost done with the second ball of yarn. I have 4 balls to go. I just love the colour.
- Vanna throw - still chugging along. I say chugging along not because I dont like knitting it but because it's getting so heavy!! Feels warm and snug though.
- Feather and fan stole - not much progress since I'm concentrating on the other 2.

Food on the Kaleebso

First of all.... where the magic happens: Aunty Mary's little kitchen on board the Kaleebso.

First up: Assam laksa with all the proper condiments

Fresh catch that we bought from a fishing boat on the way to Pulau Sembilan. About RM100 for 2 buckets worth of crabs, prawns and squid.

One of the meals was teochew porridge. Light, simple home-cooked goodness. Pictured below are the condiments.

We also ate balitong.... Here they are in the kitchen sink, waiting to be cooked.

The balitong was cooked 2 ways: one was kung po style....

... and the other was with mashed sweet potato.

There was also grilled lamb...

Wow, I'm full just looking at the pictures! I guess we over-ate (again).

Life on the Kaleebso - Part 2

More pics from our recent Kaleebso trip...

Group pic! (L-R): Nicole, Uncle Peter, Aunty Josie, Aunty Pat, Uncle Aaron and Aunty Jackie


Family pic. (L-R): Ivan, Aunty Jenny and King Julian!

Me on top of the boat while waiting to set off from Hutan Melitang.

Rommel testing out his sea legs...

Of course, I brought along some knitting to keep me occupied during the 2 hour ride from the mainland to Pulau Sembilan. That's Uncle Loh, the captain, in there btw.

Assam laksa to feed the famished. Unfortunately, it didn't sit well with those prone to seasickness.

Pa's looking cool because he took his seasick tablets beforehand.

Rommel's hanging off the front of the boat while I sat in the "watcher's chair". That's my pale thigh. Despite my initial joy of finally getting a tan, I received some comments over the weekend on how I still look so fair. :(

King Julian smiling smugly and bravely.... while his brother Ivan took a longer while getting used to standing at the front while the boat was in movement.

Life on the Kaleebso

Imagine waking up to such a view....
(your own private beach.... private island in fact since it's uninhabited)

* Pulau Lalang, part of the Pulau Sembilan islands.

What do you do if you're out at sea for 3 days?

Do you take the sampan out or go fishing?
* This is the little sampan that takes us to and fro from the beach.

Or perhaps clock in some dives?
* I miss diving already. These waters off Pulau Sembilan were surprisingly clear when we were there and one of us even managed to see a seahorse!

Do you talk about your great underwater travels the moment you get back from a dive? Here Pa is describing the size of some of the barracudas we saw underwater. Nothing big, not compared to the ferocious-looking, 4-ft long ones we caught at night.

Do you sit and contemplate life while enjoying a cuppa?

Perhaps some music for entertainment?
* Pa and Uncle Max kept things interesting with their music.
One fishing success....
*Apologies for the blur picture. I ran in to get my camera which was in an airconditioned room and so it fogged up when I brought it out.


And finally, some weird looking fruit that Uncle Loh plucked from the island. Some of us tried chewing on it and the fruit had mixed reviews. Most people did not like it though but some (like Pa) thought it was not bad.

3 days spent on Kaleebso. Memories to last a lifetime.

Piggin' Out: Restoran Suang Le River, Tanjung Karang

Restaurant: Suang Le River
Location: Bagan Pasir, Tanjung Karang
Contact: 019 690 6788, 019 233 5296
Other reviews: All About Food, Precious Pea

On the way to Hutan Melintang to board the Kaleebso, we stopped by Tanjung Karang for a seafood brunch. Restoran Suang Le River was recommended by Kaleebso captain, Uncle Loh and Pa had also tried out the place a few weeks earlier.

The nondescript entrance...





The yummy food...


The loo.... This was really amusing, especially for us cityfolk.... Here's Uncle Peter taking a peek in it.


The view...

Overall, the seafood was fresh, the cooking simple, homecooked and pretty good. Unfortunately, we ate at around 10.30am and most were not that hungry so it was a pity that I did not enjoy this meal as much as I should have.

Would I go back? Yes if I happen to be in the area.

London Cravings

What I would give to see this box.....


...and then open it to find these lovelies....


Ahhhh the famed Laduree macaroons.... Wish I was in Paris now. Or Harrods in London (which is where I got the macaroons photographed above last June but we forgot to take them out of my sister's fridge before rushing to the airport.)

*sob* Shen, would you be able to, by any chance, run over to Harrods and buy some before coming home? And while you're there, treat yourself to some gelato and eat that on my behalf. 1 scoop of nocciola for me please.

And since you're in the area, run across the street to Richoux and have some kedgeree for me please...

Oh btw, I found out that kedgeree is most likely the Brit variation of this Indian dish kichadi. So I can get it here in KL. But I think I still prefer kedgeree at Richoux.

References:

- Laduree at London Harrods, Knightsbridge

- The Ice Cream Parlour at London Harrods foodhall, Knightsbridge

- Richoux (they have 4 outlets around London but my favourite is the Knightsbridge one just across the street from Harrods).

Passport renewal - easy peasy now!

It's Friday morning and I'm not in the office. In fact, I'm in Ma's office and using Pot's laptop.

Why?

Cos Ma and I went to get our passports renewed. The self-service booth system (called Kippas) is so much easier and faster to use compared to the old school way of taking numbers, queuing for ages and then waiting for days to get the new passport.

Now everything's straightforward - just some clicks here and there on a screen, insert the relevant documents and money when requested, and then you come back in 2 hours to queue again to collect the new passport.

It didn't make sense for me to go all the way downtown to the office only to sit there for less than half an hour and then come back to Damansara for the collection. So here I am, blogging while checking office emails on my Blackberry.

So a short knit update...

Vanna throw is in progress. While it's getting rather tiring to knit as the throw grows and get heavier, I cant wait to snuggle under the finished project. So that's my motivation to complete it. I can imagine it'll be a great winter project as I can keep my legs warm with it while knitting. Since I'm in tropical Malaysia, I make sure the airconditioning is on when I knit it.

Juniper Syrian shawl is also in progress, albeit a slower progress as I'm focusing on Vanna when I'm at home. And I only have time to knit at home. But I really do love the colour and the simple garter lace pattern.

Unnamed stole - remember this? I frogged it. I have been facing a whole bout of indecisiveness on whether the pattern and the yarn go together. Somehow, it didnt seem to fit and so one night, I frogged it and started on a simple fan and feather stole. 3 inches so far....

Okay, time to go.... Ta!