Cooking Poon Choy and Pumpkin Curry Prawns

For my Chinese New Year Dinner Party, 

I wanted to impress my guests so I tried my hand at cooking poon choy.

some of the things that will go into the pot:

I cut the ingredients listed in Dragon-i's newspaper promotion 

and took daughter grocery shopping.

She looked at the list, read it and her face grew increasingly incredulous!!!

MUM!!!! I've never heard of all these ingredients!! 

AND THEY ARE NOT EDIBLE!!!

and no wonder: fsih maw, black moss, bamboo piths, among others, she had not even known about them, let alone eat them!!!

Anyway, my first stop was to buy some radish for the base of the soup at the bottom of the pot

then I looked for some of the items still available after CNY:

dried fish maw, beancurd skin, dried scallops, mushrooms...

abalone was not available, so I settled for pacific clams/

 My poon choy...is it impressive?

Then, I wanted to cook double boiled winter melon soup and then serve it in the hollowed out melon itself

Me? carry this melon to the carpark?  Oh NO...NO WAY!!!!

She would only help me to carry this: golden pumpkin!!!

 That was how I came to have curry prawns in golden pumpkin...hardly the dish for CNY!!!

 But the presentation looked great, don't you think?

 Another way to serve the prawns, ala prawn cocktail style!!

My CNY dinner!!!

My eldest daughter's birthday today 17 March 2013

My big baby is no baby anymore!

It is her birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Sue!!!!!

Lots of love from Mum and all of us here.

My Last Cross Country Duty Today 16 March 2013

Today is Cross Country and it will be my last!

 Awesome!!! Can you see the photographer on top taking photos?

He is Ahmad Mustaqim from 5 Science.

The girls below are leading the "senamrobic" dance.

 limbering up with some stretching exercises.

 Izzati, Atiqah, Lean Yee and me

 with my Form 6 girls

 Since it is my last, they gave me an "easy" task...which is to give the 

cards with the numbers to the Class A girls (Form 4, 5 and 6)

 it was a long wait, so we hammed it up for the camera

 The programme says: "Merentas Desa, 16 Mac 2012"

 with Pn Sharifah and Pn Nor Alia, the 2 From 6 teachers

 they're here!!! I have to rum after them to give the cards...or rather

they come to my post...

 Wow!! she is No 1, she is an athlete

 we are now down to the last card...No 20 (PA) or Perempuan Class A

or Girls Category A

 At last!!! She is the last! No 20!!!

My job is done!!!

So is hers!!! The time keeper!  

All the other boys and children have already got their numbers and time recorded, except No 20, because this category is usually the last to arrive!

WE HAD FUN today!!
We work together well!

Surprise Birthday Dinner for Son

It was meant to be a surprise dinner for sons's birthday

but things went awry when he had a company dinner with his boss.

 Ange had already bought wagyu beef and marinated them

 look at the perfectly marbled meat....so yummy!!!

since it was no surprise anymore, both of them cooked in the kitchen for us

 On my way back I passed by the Enggan Flats and bought these flowers RM1.00 for each Stalk and RM1 for two stalks of the small daisies...total cost of chrysanthemums RM3.00!!!!

the wagyu is nicely done now...Ken actually mashed the potato for use

 served with broccoli and mashed potatoes with bacon bits

 Tossed Caesar salad accompaniment

Our nice cosy dinner!!!

It was also son's birthday, and she bought cake from Lavendar

 nice cake with white chocolate balls caramelised and matching green and yellow artistic pieces 

like a work of art

delicious too

Happy Birthday son! When are you two cooking for us again?

Kidnap Jitters/Tourists Robbed in KL

Dad, I left my paperback novel in your car.

I need to go get it!

Such a simple, innocuous statement gave us jitters!

In view of the spate of kidnapping, killing, robbery, snatch thefts and abduction 

in and around the city, we were so afraid something will happen to our little girl!! So we switched on the CCTV to monitor her movements!!

 The car was outside the gate which means she had to open the gate to go out outside to get her book!

 You know what they say...you take your eyes off your kid even for one minute...he or she will be gone...next thing you know a  body will be found floating face up in the Klang River!!!!

 There's a man on a motorbike passing by!!! My son said!!! Panic set in!!

 Luckily she had come into the house and the gate was closed again.

Father and son watching intently, making sure no harm can befall her.  Why has Malaysia come to this level???  Just heard that 2 tourists had been gang raped in a bus by two men still at large and another tourist raped and robbed by the taxi driver and his front passenger in the newspaper today.  What a crime ridden country this is!!!
Below are the two suspects who are alleged to have robbed and violated the 2 foreign tourists.

Sila Sebarkan ORANG DIKEHENDAKI : KES SAMUN OLEH PEMANDU TEKSI
Sejak awal tahun 2013 hingga kini, telah berlaku kejadian samun oleh pemandu teksi terhadap penumpang dan sebanyak (13) kes telah dilaporkan dimana (3) kes dilaporkan berlaku di daerah Dang Wangi, (5) kes di kawasan Brickfields, manakala di Cheras (3) kes dan Sentul (2) kes yang melibatkan mangsa (8) wanita dan selebihnya (5) kes penumpang lelaki. Turut terbabit mangsa (2) kes dari pelancong asing melibatkan kerugian lebih kurang RM 47,116.00. Siasatan polis mendapati suspek dalam kejadian ini adalah dikalangan penyewa dan pemandu teksi di syarikat-syarikat tertentu di Kuala Lumpur. Pihak polis sangat memandang berat kejadian ini kerana selain menyebabkan mangsa kerugian, ia juga boleh menghakis kepercayaan orang ramai untuk menggunakan pengangkutan awam serta memberikan gambaran yang negatif kepada pelancong asing. Pihak polis berharap pemilik / syarikat teksi supaya lebih berhati-hati disamping bertanggung jawab di dalam memastikan teksi yang disewakan tidak disalahguna oleh penyewa untuk melakukan jenayah, di samping menyemak latarbelakng individu yang menyewa teksi dari syarikat mereka. Sehubungan dengan itu pihak polis sedang mengesan dan mencari individu-individu seperti gambar berikut yang dipercayai dapat membantu pihak polis dalam menyelesaikan kes berkenaan. Orang ramai yang mempunyai sebarang maklumat berkaitan individu terbabit diminta menghubungi Bilik Gerakan JSJ D9 IPK Kuala Lumpur di talian 03-21460685 atau mana-mana balai polis berhampiran.

The two tourists who suffered cuts and are sitting on the pavement bleeding from their wounds...disgraceful Malaysia!!!

If you can read Chinese:

光明日报:

恶匪劫财还伤人，姐妹浑身浴血照，吓阻游客来大马。
一对奥地利籍姐妹前往万挠康情公园游山玩水时，遭独行刀匪抢劫，虽然姐妹两人都学过跆拳道并试图自卫，但最终却遭匪徒砍成血人，并被抢走护照和财物。其中，51岁的大姐双手被砍至深可见骨，而50岁的妹妹则是右手臂及手指被伤至血流如注，事发约30分钟后，她们才被清洁工人发现。随着这起桉件于上月20日早上发生后，一名摄影师也声称他于去年遭匪徒偷钱包后，曾在警员带领下到该处后山查找钱包，结果找到逾百个钱包。此外，当地民众也指该公园平均每月发生至少七八宗游客遇劫或被偷财物桉件，不过，鹅唛警区主任阿都拉欣受询时却否认当地治安亮红灯，并指今年初至今只发生2宗劫桉。

中国报独家报导：
“德士匪”横行，掳、姦、劫、囚禁、勒索无恶不作，美国女游客误上“狼德士”，惨遭掳走囚禁，1天内更被15人轮姦！饱受折腾的女游客脱困后到警局报桉，当时她身上伤痕纍纍，悲惨遭遇令当值警员痛斥匪徒丧尽天良。

Hawkeye Jack

25 YEAR OLD AMERICAN WOMAN ROBBED, RAPED AND ABDUCTED BY TAXI DRIVER!

PETALING JAYA: A trip to Malaysia turned hellish for an American woman after she was robbed, wrongfully confined and raped by two men.

The 25-year-old woman had just finished shopping at a mall at Mutiara Damansara on Monday when she hailed a taxi.

The taxi driver, who already had one passenger sitting in the front passenger seat, picked up the woman.

Sources revealed that instead of heading to her intended destination, the victim was robbed of her belongings before being taken on an 80km terror ride from Mutiara Damansara to a house in Sungai Pelek, Sepang.

The two abductors wasted no time in taking turns raping the woman.

It is learnt that the woman had later managed to free herself on Tuesday and sought the assistance of passers-by before lodging a police report.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed confirmed police have received a report over the incident.

“We have arrested one man so far and investigations are still on-going. “We hope to detain the second suspect soon,” he said.

Those with information on the case are urged to contact the police hotline at 03-2052 9999 or visit the nearest police station.

xanthelasma....I also Have this!!!!!

Is high cholesterol to blame for the mystery bumps under Zooey Deschanel’s eye make-up?

But the diagnosis of cholesterol deposits, or xanthelasma, is an especially popular one , and if Ms Deschanel were to remove her eye make-up, it would be easy for a doctor to establish whether this were the case. Actress Zooey Deschanel sparked some concern last night after keen-eyed onlookers observed that there were some small bumps on her right eyelid.

Today, top medical experts suggested that the abnormality could be anything from cholesterol deposits to small benign tumors.
  .... there could be several reasons for bumps on one's eyelid.

Glimpse: The abnormality, which may be caused by high cholesterol, is near-impossible to see when the star's eyes are open, but when they are closed, a series of raised bumps on the outer edge of her eyelid is visible

According to Dr Ralph Abraham, Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the UK's London Medical   clinic, 'the yellowish tinge of cholesterol deposits is unmistakeable.'

Dr Michelle Copeland, who is based in New York and specializes in cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery, added that xanthelasma 'often occurs in both eyelids so it might be helpful to look at her other eye' and that sometimes several members of a family are affected in the same way.

'Small bumps on the upper eyelid could be small, benign tumors called syringomas, cholesterol deposits, or little water cysts'

Luckily for a patient who may be concerned about the way they look, the appearance of the bumps can be reduced with the help of medication - though they might need some patience.
'Cholesterol lowering drugs such as a statin cause these to reduce with time, but a skilled plastic surgeon is usually needed for patients who need instant beautification,' Dr Abraham explains.
But Dr Heidi A Waldorf  , Director of Laser & Cosmetic Dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical

Based on the size and symmetry of distribution, they look like either syringoma or small epidermal cysts or could be suture reactions to removals of some lesions or even a blepharoplasty [surgical modification of the eyelid],' she says.
But, Dr Waldorf adds, 'it's impossible to tell for sure without additional history or a closer examination without make-up and ultimately a biopsy.'
Dr Copeland also speculated whether the bumps on the eyes could be milia, which she says 'are formed when keratin (a substance produced by the skin) becomes entrapped beneath the outer layer of the skin, forming a tiny cyst.'
Like xanthelasma, milia can be removed surgically, she says.