Merry X'mas 2009

Siaopo had a hectic week.

Why ? .......In preparation for the up-coming Christmas.

Siaopo was busy with Christmas shoppings ,gifts wrapping and writing-out the many Christmas cards.

She has written out at least 150 over cards for families, friends, both hubby and her colleagues, neighbours and yada yada.

Her fingers have now gone numb and stiff !..ha ha...

Siaopo and hubby would like to take this opportunity to wish families and friends a very lovely Christmas !

If you haven't already sent Santa your present list, be quick !

Tell Santa what you want for Christmas...Ho Ho ho..Merry X'mas !

The 10000 to the power of infinity cards Siaopo has written....Madness...

Christmas gifts for close friends, the little goddaughter and Siaopo's bosses. Yes..for bosses, a bit of arse-licking here...well, RESPECT them ma ok? ....haha..

Wonderful Christmas Cards from Siaopo's colleagues

The Lovely Goddaughter

It has certainly reach a point when the goddaughter draws closer to hubby than Siaopo.

It didn't happen overnight. The bonding developed naturally over months, if not years.

It's just Kristie's behaviour when she's around hubby, somehow - happier and more relaxed.

Quite naturally, when hubby steps in for a visit, the little angel will greet him happily and has someone to ally herself with.

They enjoy watching In the Night Garden and SHOW ME SHOW ME together.

Without a shadow of doubt, hubby has found a new best friend (apart from Miss TV) ... Ha ha

To the Kongs, Siaopo and hubby would like to thank you both for giving us the honour of being the godparents.

Honestly, little Kristie has brought so much love, joy and fun !

Tau cheong Fish

A typical Chinese Fish recipe.

Ingredients
1 sea bream
1 tbsp garlic (chopped)
1/2 red pepper (sliced)
1/2 green pepper (sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
2 tbsp cornflour

Sauce
2 tbsp tau cheong
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp rice wine

Method

1. Clean and pat dry fish.
2. Deep friend fish.
3. Heat wok with oil. Fry garlic.
4. Add in sauce. simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Add in onions and peppers.
6. Pour mixture over deep-fried fish.
7. Serve warm with rice.

Splendid Christmas Gift

Siaopo is going to fall head over heels madly in-love with hubby !

She was pampered with a splendid surprise gift yesterday.

As Siaopo sprung through the house door after work, a little DHL delivery note addressed to hubby had caught her attention. The kind neighbour had signed the parcel on behalf.

Siaopo has been asked by the neighbour, if it was Christmas gift for her. Knowing absolutely nothing about the package, there was a silent about - ooh... a 30 seconds before she replied " I hope so", smiling.

Siaopo was bewildered. She found herself staring at the RADLEY-logo, wondering if it was about to pop !

Hmm...RADLEY ? The infamous designer brand handbag maker.

Siaopo picked up the phone and asked hubby if that RADLEY parcel is for her, or he bought for someone-else.

" Lou por, do you think I am damn free buying for someone-else?", the poor chap voice had dropped by about one octave lower with big hint of annoyance.

Oh yes, the wife had just dropped-in a ridiculous question. Siaopo was just complete killjoy.

Siaopo was numb with disbelief - a RADLEY bag that she has been dreaming of having for years !

The ATM machine and the RADLEY parcel...

Siaopo was dancing on the ceiling over those amazing, out-of-this-world sling bags, wallet and keyring.

A Christmas gift as a token of appreciation to Siaopo for cooking him three meals a day, doing his laundry, ironing his clothing, cleaning the house, dressing him up, shopping for his necessities and yada yada yada, hubby claimed.

Siaopo has never been a glamorous puss, but would occasionally enjoy a bit of luxury though.

Yipee ! this is the very first designer bag she owns. Thank you very much Lou Kong !

Siaopo went to sleep last night with a big smile on her face.

Swing Bag, wallet and keyring

Head-scratching and frowning time round for Siaopo. What could be the best Christmas gift for hubby then?

This time, she is putting her foot right down, everything but GOLF....

Why ?

Because GOLF gears are bloody expensive !!!!!!

The Shopaholic Series

This exciting Chick Lit series amused , entertained and captivated Siaopo.

The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella.

Siaopo highly recommend this series to everyone.

Despite the fact that she had already seen the movie, knowing the progression of events, yet she was still captivated by these novels.

Siaopo absolutely, genuinely loved them . The whole series was just funny, charming and unputdownable.

A story of a lady, Becky Bloomwood in her late 20s works as a journalist in London. She earns £21,000 per year ( average income for a fresh graduate), who spends her working life telling others how to manage their money. She spends her leisure time.......shopping !

A typical lady who is terribly bad in cash-flow ( just like Siaopo), had her debts mounting up and the banks are after her with huge overdraft and etc. She tried cutting back, she tries making more money. Neither seems to work. Her only comfort is to indulge herself into retail therapy.

Becky's debts is getting beyond the joke. She is walking across egg-shells everyday. It gotten worse as she tries to untangle her financial difficulties.

Shopaholic Slogan : When the going gets tough, the tough goes shopping !!!!!

The DVD - a combination of 1st and 2nd books

The Shopaholic Series...5 books in total

Siaopo loves the sense of humor in the series and the writer never fails to make her laugh out loud.

Hubby thought Siaopo has gone nuts with her non-stop giggles .

Siaopo hates to say this, but she has been infected with this chick-lit reading virus lately.

Her endless novel-reading has caused a serious obesity in her. The hobby with no running around, her fat arse seems to have grown few inches wide !

What an lame blame eh ! ha ha...

Sambal Egg

A good recipe when there's plenty of eggs lying around...

Coat boiled egg with rice flour and deep fried them till golden brown.

Sambal similar as Sambal Ikan Bilis.

Sweet and Sour Meatball

Diversifying the meatballs into Sweet and Sour Meatball.

Ingredients
15 Meatballs
1 tbsp garlic
1 onion (sliced)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)

Sauce
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp chicken stocks
4 tbsp water

Method

1. Mix sauce into a bowl.
2. Fried garlic till fragrant.
3. Add peppers and onions.
4. Add sauce and cook for 2 minute.
5. Stir in meatballs.
6. Serve with rice.

Tangy Meatball

An energy-boosting snack to keep the Sunday afternoon going...

Ingredients
1 small packet of pork mince
2 stalks coriander leaves (chopped)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 egg
pepper

Method

1. Mix all ingredients and marinate for 2 hours.
2. Shape the meat to balls. Deep fried till golden brown.
3. Serve with chili sauce.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD )

Siaopo completely lost her mind this week.

She must have pissed the hell out of everyone around at work. She was grumpy, unfriendly and miserable throughout the week.

It gotten worse today.

Siaopo had a big disagreement with the big boss. Worse is, she tried to argue her way out over her own mistakes !

She has gone bananas.

Big boss stared at her and started laughing. Three others at the meeting started rolling their eyes.

Yes Bingo! Siaopo had taken the delight in making herself look like a complete idiot around.

Big boss reckons Siaopo is suffering from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is the second time round this week he has associated Siaopo with this peculiar disorder syndromes.

Three others started laughing out loud with Ooh and Aah over the room.

Honestly, it was a relief to her that they found it funny or she would have died with embarrassment.

So, What's SAD ?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of winter depression, a mood disorder in which normal mental health people experience depressive symptoms in the winter. ( repeat word for word here - NORMAL MENTAL HEALTH PEOPLE OK? ha ha )

Cause of SAD : Lack of sunlight and shortening of daylight hours.

Weather has been awful in Newcastle, raining most of the time. Well, that explains all on why her moods was yo-yo-ing up and down.

Yes, Siaopo is definitely suffering SAD. Blame on the bloody weather !

So, who will be the next victim of her mood swings ? Err....HUBBY ! ha ha

Left home for office at 7.00 am. Mr Sun has not yet risen

At Factory Car Park - Mr Sun has gone down when Siaopo finishes work

So, where is the sunlight ?????? She hasn't seen sunlight for days....

Braised Chicken Wings with Chinese Red Dates

Hubby associates this dish with some sort of confinement dish. How pathetic !

Ingredients
1 packet of chicken wings
2 inch of ginger (sliced)
4 cloves garlic (smashed)
12 Chinese red dates
200ml water
3 tbsp sesame oil

Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chicken stock

Method

1. Heat sesame oil. Fry ginger and garlic.
2. Add in chicken wings and stir fry till aromatic.
3. Pour water and seasoning in.
4. Add in Chinese red dates.
5. Simmer for 25 minutes till sauce thicken.
6. Serve warm with rice.

Ho Ho Ho...Merry X'mas !

Siaopo was caught by surprise this morning.

Christmas decorations are in full swing in her office. Christmas time is here again !

When Siaopo was a child in Malaysia, Christmas was just like Halloween and Easter, a concept she only read about in books.

Now in England, however, she is being swarmed with all sorts of Christmas celebration left, right and center.

Christmas feeling is definitely creeping in !

Siaopo was shock. At first.

The lasses then commented : Christmas decorating is essential to bring out the feeling. Without deco, Christmas would not be the same.

True enough.

Few small-sized Christmas trees full of ornaments . Swathes of Tinsel and Christmas lights all around the desks, doors, filing cabinets,monitors and many many more.

Siaopo has been asked, what she thinks about those Christmas decoration.

"Lovely", Siaopo replied through her gritted teeth, though, she thinks the decoration was a bit over the top.

The whole place looks kind of like Santa's grotto. The only thing missing in the office is just Mr SANTA ! ha ha..

Cool Monitor...

One of the many Christmas tree. Part of the decoration..

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas !

So, will Christmas ambience soon be flowing through Siaopo's home ?

Well, she is patiently waiting and waiting for hubby to carry the Christmas tree down from the loft.......

Lou Kong, An chua ? Ok bo? ha ha...

Seafood Japanese Udon Soup Noodle

A perfect recipe for Siaopo when she is too lazy and yet need to satisfy her domestic kingdom.

She can't believe how ridiculously easy it is to make a restaurant-like Seafood Japanese Udon Soup Noodle.

Perhaps, she has gone too far on the " restaurant-like". "Home-like " sounds better.

Ingredients
1 packet of Udon Noodle (boiled)
6 fish balls
Handful of prawns
1 tbsp chicken Stocks

Garnish
Spring Onions (chopped)
Fried garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
Dash of Pepper

Method

1. Boil a pot of water. Add in chicken stocks.
2. Put in fish balls and prawns
3. Add in cooked Udon noodle.
4. Garnish with ingredients.

Rum and Raisin Chiffon Cake

Hubby and Siaopo will both eat like a horse when it comes to any Rum and Raisin flavoured food.

Siaopo must admit, in any occasion, both fight over Rum and Raisin ice-Cream, Rum and Raisin fudge and Rum and Raisin chocolate.

Today siaopo made a huge discovery, though. Huge.

She has successfully baked Rum and Raisin Chiffon Cake. Eccellente !

It's now a proven craze in Siaopo's kitchen.

Similar method, steps and ingredients as Pandan Chiffon Cake. Replace coconut milk with fresh milk and 2 tbsp of Rum Flavoring. Fold in raisins just before pouring the batter into the tube.

Steamed Banana Cup Cake

Siaopo is back to weekend kitchen-affair after a couple of busy weeks.

There goes Siaopo's idea for the over-ripe bananas sitting in the fruit basket.

Ingredients
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
2 ripe bananas
130g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
70g vegetable oil

Method

1. Sift flour and bicarbonate soda.
2. Beat eggs and sugar.
3. Mix mashed bananas and beat till well-combined.
4. Gently fold flour mixture and oil.
5. Pour batter into mould.
6. Steam over high heat for 25 minutes.

More visitors

For couple living abroad can be a very lonely bother at times - there's no one else around.

It's nice when some far-away Malaysian friends drop in to say hello.

Yes, more visitors.

Being visited seems to take on more meaning as it's a superb chance to introduce someone to the fair city of Newcastle Upon Tyne ! ha ha...

LM and Zac came up from London recently to stay with Siaopo and hubby for 2 nights.

LM's elder brother, Alex and hubby go back a long way. They were at High School together.

For Siaopo and hubby, it's been a joy having them around.

Hope they've had great fun too !

LM and Siaopo

@ Infamous Newcastle Millennium Bridge

Dinner at Kebabish Indian Restaurant

Fried Chicken Wings

Hubby gobbled these fried chicken wings like there's no tomorrow !

Ingredients
1 packet of chicken wings (halved )
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garlic powder
6 tbsp of cornflour (coating)

Method

1. Mix coriander and garlic powder with the chicken wings.
2. Marinate overnight.
3. Heat wok with oil. Coat wings with cornflour and fry over medium heat.
4. Drain off oil on paper towel.
5. Serve with chili sauce.

Kristie's Christening Day

Ah....Siaopo's two mischievous kids.

The elder one looking after the younger one....ha ha

Ah yes, it's a scene of getting Kristie ready for her Christening Ceremony.

Siaopo was skipping with joy when the Kongs graciously asked if Siaopo and hubby would do them the honour of being the Godparents to Kristie.

Siaopo said YES immediately. She was THRILLED !

Hubby and Siaopo were gloriously honoured to have Kristie as their God Daughter.

Ecstatic, Siaopo should say, on the past Sunday. Is Kristie's Christening Day.

The Baptism ceremony for Kristie was held in Holy Trinity Church Gateshead.

It was truly a significant event for this sweetheart. The day marks the start of her journey of faith, turning towards Christ and a visible sign of God's love.

Wonderful, sweet, well-behaved Kristie tolerantly allowed the Minister to pour water on her head and making the sign of cross on her forehead.

Kristie was incredibly amazing !

Everyone was extremely impressed with the little angel's performance. Bravo!

The newly appointed Godparents

A little keepsake gift from the Godparents to commemorate the event...

Uncle, I want monies ££££ please....

Nasi Goreng Thai

It was a hectic day at work for Siaopo. Everybody in the office just wants her blood today !

How distressed she was ! Grrrr...

Simple Nasi Goreng Thai is just perfect for the night.

Ingredients
2 eggs (beaten)
1 can SPAM meat (cubed)
I packet of Seri Aji powder Nasi Goreng Thai
1 tbsp garlic (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 cups of cooked rice
2 spring onions (chopped)

Method

1. Heat oil in wok. Add beaten egg and swirl it around to set like a thin pancake.
2. Slide pancake, roll up and cut into strips. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in wok. Add onions and garlic.
4. Add in seasoning and mix well.
5. Add in SPAM and and rice until everything heated through.
6. Add in spring onions.
7. Garnish with egg strips and chili.

The Child with 3D glasses ...

Siaopo has a child. It's a boy. His name is Hubby.

Three things Siaopo tells about her so-called son :

One, he possess the characteristics of a child.
Two, he adores kids TV programmes.
Three, he doesn't know how to dress himself up.

All Siaopo can say is, he drives her up the wall with his cheekiness. A mischievous child. A demon, he is.

For fact, Siaopo is generally soft, anything-goes kind of person, destined to be bullied left, right and center by this CHILD !

This so-called son of hers is a real TV junkie who watches hours of TV a day. TV made much of him.

His favorite : Cartoon.

He giggles at Pokemon, memorises the Lion King theme song and watches THE SHREK million of times !

Ridiculous, Siaopo must say.

Something new this week has enlighten this child again.

Sainsbury is giving out 3D glasses for FREE and able to enjoy the full effects of Channel 4 programme.

Here he is enjoying the 3D movies on Channel 4. He is full of joy and giggles.....

The kid with his FREE AND COOL 3D glasses

Be quick. Pick up a free pair of 3D glasses from any Sainsbury's store and Enjoy !

The Weekend...

A weekend of no cooking. Siaopo had ditch her weekend housewife role for a workshop event at Yorkshire.

Though the workshop was awe-inspiring, Siaopo can't help but think that those hands of hers are better used for chopping poultry, kneading dough, ironing clothes than jotting down notes, business networking on weekends.

Siaopo has got no career-minded aspirations whatsoever.

Sad, sad, sad.

The thoughts of ditching her career for a full-time housewife always crop up. Well, she actually felt glad to slowly welcome the vestige of the housewife inspiration to her persona. Well of course, the other side always looks deceptively greener.

Argh....Siaopo is just going through the Big-30-years old (mid-life) crisis funk !

OK, back to the trip again.

Siaopo was glad that hubby was kind enough to tag along . The driving duties of less than 2 hours - not her but him. ha ha..

The question : How did hubby spend his day while waiting for Siaopo's full-day workshop event?

The answer : Go Golfing at neary Golf course ! Yipee...

And so, Friday's free night-stay was spent in hotel in Yorkshire. Extended Saturday night's stay in Leeds and was kindly sponsored by hubby.

Siaopo and hubby managed to wander into Leeds City Center on Saturday night, had dinner at a recommended Chinese restaurant and explored into Harrogate town on Sunday mid-day on their way back to Newcastle.

Except for the fact that Siaopo had to attend workshop, and hubby had a row with the front desk hotel personnel, it was otherwise an awesome holiday . ha ha...

Leaving for workshop - "BYE . ENJOY YOUR GOLF "

Red Chillies - highly recommended restaurant

Clockwise : Sze-Zhuan Seafood Hot Pot, Fried Tofu and Stir-fry Pig's Intestine with spring onions ( hubby's favorite)

So, the food...are they good ? You bet !

German Christmas Market @ Leeds

Harrogate Town Center

Now, having missed her weekend housewife duties, Siaopo will have a tough week ahead - with evenings catching up all the cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping and .....cooking. Sigh...

Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

After few days of eating out, hubby and Siaopo are missing home cooking ! ha ha

Food Critic hubby commented Soy Sauce Chicken Wings as normal and nothing spectacular! He prefer his favorite Buffalo Wings.

Ingredients
1 packet chicken wings ( halve)
3 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cloves garlic (peeled)
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp oil
2 stalks spring onions (chopped)

Method

1. Blend all ingredients above to form mixture.
2. Add the wings and marinate for 1 hour.
3. Pre-heat oven to 185 degree.
4. Place wings on baking tray and baste with sauce.
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 20 minutes.
6. Serve warm.

Three course meal - Soy Sauce Chicken Wings, stir-fry broccoli and lotus root soup

Kristie Turns Two

The little girl turned two last weekend. She had a wonderful birthday party.

Lots of birthday balloons all over. Her wonderful mummy got up from bed just before dawn to decorate the room for her birthday celebration to surprise her. What a lucky girl!

Kristie's second birthday party was very different from her first.

On her first birthday party, she was petrified,yelling and trying to turn away from the lit candle.

On her second, she now knows what birthdays are and was smilling happily away when everyone standing around to sing her birthday song.

This sweet little angel has definitely grown up!

Aunty and uncle here hope you love the gift ya?

Yummy yummy food...

Siaopo and hubby with their best buddy..

The big TWO..

Claypot Chicken Rice ( Nga Po Fun )

Siaopo is in the final stages of recovery. Fingers crossed.

Siaopo is back to cooking mode. A simple yet delicious Claypot Chicken Rice. She cooked the rice with rice cooker instead of claypot.

Ingredients
1lb chicken (cubed)
2 cups of rice
10 Chinese mushroom (soak and slice)
1 egg

Marinate
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese wine
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tbsp cornflour

Seasoning
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
300 ml water

Method

1. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes.
2. Heat wok with oil. Add chicken and mushrooms. stir fry.
   
3. Mix rice with seasoning. Put rice in rice cooker.
4. After 10 minutes, add in cooked mixture.
5. Crack egg into cooker 5 minutes before rice cooked.
6. Garnish with spring onions.

Breakie and Lunch Box

Siaopo's grateful thanks to the many wishes for her recovery. She is on her way to recovery and has return to work.

A special thanks to Alice for the miracle medication. It really does work!

The tablets has help Siaopo's whooping cough tail away in hidden silence. Ichiban !

And so, it's been a tired, sick day with no cooking affairs.

In other words, there is no home-packed lunch nor breakfast to work. (leftover dinner dishes normally for lunch box next day)

Siaopo, the bread-lover, can easily do with sandwiches.

As for hubby, the number 1 bread-hater, though, will call it a disastrous day if his food boxes turn out to be sandwiches !

And so, Siaopo settled his food boxes for simple sushi as breakfast and frozen chunk for his lunch. Easy-peasy.

TADAH !

Simple tuna/egg sushi served with wasabi.

Oh Gosh ! Siaopo need to brush-up her sushi rolling skills.

Siaopo basically chuck the BirdEye chicken breast and McCain curly fries into the oven.

So, what's next ? Just chuck the boxes into the refrigerator till tomorrow morning and guess what? No more morning rush for Siaopo ! Well organised...Yipee...

Chicken breast, curly fries, two scoop of Tesco coleslaw with cucumbers

Food for the sick.....

Monday at work was horrible in matter of fact.

Being tired, coughing and aching-throat, Siaopo have figured out that a cold, flu were on its way.

And.. Bingo ! Tuesday morning, Siaopo was sick like a dog!

Siaopo has to call in sick. She remembered the last time she called in sick was 2 years ago with the same sickness - flu, cold, chest infection, fever, sore throat and many more...

One thing for definite - all illness but AIDS. "Says Who ? Says Siaopo"! ha ha

She felt cold and shivery, weak and shaky whole day. Terrible headache hits her like a hammer blow.

She felt as if she has suffered from those incurable diseases. Much to her relief, she discovered that cold and flu are not in the list of incurable diseases by Wikipedia after googling for it over the Internet.

She has no appetite for food at all which is extremely unusual for piggy Siaopo.

Her stomach gave her a nasty flip looking at the bread, biscuits, cereal...etc. So, she ended up cooking her own yummy special congee.

Yummy yummy-the best sick recipe ever,so to speak ! ha ha

Is not fun being sick. Hope she will be up and running around again soon.

To her own disbelief, she actually miss her work just one day away from office !! What on earth is happening to her ?? What a crazy lady she is - no wonder her nick name SIAOPO came in so handy...!