little miss may

Home, home, HOME!

And what a full three days it has been so far, with all the non-stop eating and lepak-ing here and there. I must apologise for not visiting your blogs more often than I should, but with these mouth-watering distractions, I’m taking a longer time getting to your comments box than usual. I’ll get there soon, yea?

I won’t bore you to tears with words — let the pictures speak for themselves.

Friday morning’s breakfast of harkau, lormaikai and other delectable dimsum dishes with the Emperor. Afternoon lunch of asam laksa at the Curve, followed by Kluang Station’s soft-boiled eggs and roti bakar for tea, and fruity alternatives from Starbucks in-between. Ratatouille!

Next morning’s crispy roti canai breakfast at Saji, Kota Kemuning with Mudpie’s family and the Emperor. Baking frenzy of chocolate chip & banana muffins with Mudpie, and later witnessed the making of the best beef rendang on earth! Colourfully scented tea lights brightening up the evening.

Sunday morning brunch at Jarrod & Rawlins, this time at Medan Damansara. The must-have J&R Special, with 2 eggs sunny side up, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, baked beans, tomato and toast. Not as great as the one we tasted at Sri Hartamas a year ago, but at least the great company made up for it.

And instead of chest shots, may I present some crotches, spare tyres, bums and thighs as dessert… Could you guess who is who? Present were King’s Wife with Ally and Sam, Princess A, Winn, carcar, sengkor, and the Emperor.

The weekend’s come and gone! How fast was that? Can’t believe it just flew by in a few blinks of an eye…

It was a cloudy Saturday when Moz and I went for the long, 3-hour coastal walk from Bondi beach to Coogee beach. I had dragged my Brazilian colleague along, and he was charming company to say the least!

Clockwise from top right: cliffs near Bondi, mosaic steps, mosaic up-close, swimming pool at Bondi, eggs benedict, iced coffee with whipped cream.

The walk was very, very pleasant — semi-blue skies, cool breeze, clouds rolling in from a distance. We stopped by a cafe along the way to have an early lunch; I ordered eggs benedict with smoked salmon, and some cream-topped iced coffee to wash it down. Totally yummy! Felt guilty after eating all that, but thank goodness the long walk kinda made up for all the calories consumed.

LaundryAmah, famous bakery in Chinatown, custard puffs.

Sunday came and it rained, and rained, and rained. But that didn’t stop us from meeting up with LaundryAmah and her friend, Mr. D! It wasn’t a day to go out for a scenic walk, so we went shopping in Chinatown instead. You should’ve seen her loot, and all of ours put together — it looked like we bought the whole of Paddy’s Market.

seafood platter at Blue Fish, the restaurant, fresh oyster.

Evening came, and it was still so very wet. What to do, what to do? Eat, of course! The four of us pigged out on seafood at a restaurant at Darling Harbour. Fresh oysters, lobster, fish, squid, chips, prawns, sweet white wine… the whole lot. How not to get fat?!

Ahhhh… good food, great times, the best company. Thanks for a wonderful time, my dears! I had a fabulous time, one of the best weekends since I came here, ever!

Too bad the weekend’s over. Can’t wait till next week, I could hardly sit still thinking that by this time next Sunday, I’d be enjoying some home-cooked food, perhaps some lormaikai, harkau, Ipoh horfun, assam laksa, some hee-hee-ha-ha company, lots of hugs, kisses, *ahem*…

I’m comin’ home, baby!

Moz Monster is in town for a couple of weeks.

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with him, catching up on bits and pieces of life over a plate of noodles, dumplings and gelato. It was really good to have some familiar company around other than the people I work with.

It was a really warm day for winter — 21ºC — and perfect for long walks. We went up and down Darling Harbour, checked out QVB, and eventually ended the day with a breezy stroll at Hyde Park where flowers have started to bloom. Not quite officially Spring yet, but it sure looks like it’s very close around the corner.

Thank you Moz, for the delight of your company! It certainly was one of the best excuses to get out and about instead of moping at home. What’s on for next weekend?

And to my dear old friend May Yee — Happy Birthday! Hope it was wonderful, best wishes and may you have many more great birthdays to celebrate!

What to do on a sunny Sunday? Why, go on an adventure, of course!

I couldn’t resist waking up early, finishing up my grocery-shopping and getting out of the apartment before 11 a.m. I was on a “mission” — to revisit Watsons Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs which had charmed me years ago when I was a student (and where this was the perfect “pak toh” place… *grin*).

It’s a quick half-hour ride by ferry to the bay, with a few quick stops in-between at smaller docks. No matter how often I go on the ferries, I’d always — unless it’s raining — choose a spot at the back to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in the distance as we speed away from Circular Quay. The red flag flying at the ferry’s bum (I don’t know what the proper term for it is) made quite a cute scene, yes?

There are 2 things that Watsons Bay is famous for. The first is the best fish and chips (and calamari, too) in town at Doyle’s. You could choose to dine at the beach restaurant that’s always packed with patrons, or take away from their wharf outlet to eat elsewhere. Naturally, I opted to pack my flat head fish and chips instead, sat close to the beach and enjoyed the scenes as I fed my tummy.

What beach would be complete without seagulls? There were flocks and flocks of these noisy, greedy birds which swooped down and edged as close to you as possible at the first sign of food. I was no exception. At first I was reluctant to share my lunch, but after 4 huge strips of fish, my chips were cold and not all that enjoyable anymore. Might as well not let them go to waste and feed a few hungry birds, eh?

They quickly learnt that I had food to offer, and my goodness, you should see them squabble over my soggy fries! Great photo opportunities, I must say, feeding them by hand. And I discovered that they hovered oh-so-nicely in mid-air, waited for the moments where I held up a few fries above my head, and nose-dived to peck them out of my fingers.

The second attraction is Gap Bluff (also known as the Gap, not to be mistaken with the clothing company), an ocean cliff that sits on the eastern side of the bay with spectacular views. A short walk across the road, up either side of the footpath and you could see for miles on a clear day, even the Harbour Bridge.

Bizarrely, the Gap is not as well known for its beautiful scenery as it is for the suicides that occur annually at this place. It’s been reported that about 20 to 30 people take their lives every year by leaping from the Gap onto the rocks below. Strange, but true… I suppose if I were to go out in style, this certainly makes a last pretty picture before I… *gulp*!

Choi choi choi, touch wood, touch wood…

Many apologies for being a million ant years late with replies to these tags. And in my traditional all-in-one fashion, I’ve put them in one post while waiting for the next batch to come in… *grin*

First, the Sampat Blogger Award™ as created and nominated by our Sampat Doctor Chen. I never thought I’d be receiving this award first hand by the Sampat Mastermind herself, but there we go. I guess it takes a Sampat-er to know another Sampat-er, yes?

This award was also given to me by mistimoo and my Kai Cheh Wennnn. What an honour!

I’d like to thank my fellow Sampat-ers for this award. Being nominated together with all of you is a privilege already, and I must say that though it’s a small chance that I might emerge as the Sampat Queen with three nominations (any more ah?), it’s my pleasure to say that the one who truly deserves this title would be the Sampat Doctor herself, for creating such an award. And the Sampat King should be Ah Boy.

Next up: the Schmooze Award™. Many thanks to Rinnah for passing this on to me, she’s such a darling! I never thought I’d be a fellow Schmoozer amongst the already well-known ones like… well, you know who’s been awarded by going to their blogs.

For those not in the know, to schmooze is… “…to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection”. And I’m pleased to pass this award on to the youngest Schmoozer I know, Misha. She’s got such a wide social connection, from HK to Malaysia, that one wouldn’t have known she’s only 7 years old! They certainly do start young these days, don’t they?

Last but not least, the ever illusive, ever imaginary 1 Million Buckaroos that Wennnn wished to know what I’d do with, if I had it. That’s such a big IF. Maybe in Monopoly, I’d have a chance of getting my million, eh? If Chen doesn’t beat me to it first, that is.

It’s not a hard one. Granted, 1 million bucks (in any currency, but I’m hoping this would be in Pound Sterling ‘cos that’s Top Dog now) isn’t a lot these days. Still, there are so many things I could do with it, but logically and practically speaking, these would be on top of my list:

• Pay of all debts for my family, including mortgages and “dai yee loongs”.
• Invest. Who wouldn’t want their money to grow?
• Donate to charity. I’d feel so guilty if I didn’t.
• Give my parents the holiday of a lifetime to anywhere they want.
• My own little place to live in with a garden, a dog, and maybe a swing.
• Visit you, and you, and you… and you and you…
• Whatever else I have left, I’m sure I’d figure out something to do with it.

Update on 6 August: I didn’t realise earlier, but Giddy Tiger gave me 1 million virtual buckaroos to spend, too! Does that mean I have 2 million now instead of just one? More to “spend”, whee!

I still owe a few of you some other tags. I’ll get to them in a couple of weeks, ya? Must accumulate a few more first, haha!