Archive for September, 2006
i am brought back to a time in a place where the air conditioning and the ceiling fan are both on at the same time. the ceiling fan is dotted with glow-in-the-dark stars and it makes lulling sounds in it’s repetitive whirring. clunk clunk clunk. the air is otherwise silent, draped in a calm that is reminiscent of sitting on grass and letting the evening wind tug on your hair.
i turn to my right and he is there, sleeping. i know that if i make an exaggerated movement, his eyes would fly open and he’d say hmmm? in a voice that is hazy yet concerned. i settle myself deeper into my pillows. there is a yellow pillow under my head and another one under my back. i still sleep the same way at home. my right shoulder rests lightly on his left arm. i still sleep the same way with my boyfriends. we arent cuddling, we arent holding hands - we’re just sleeping side by side. i look back on this bemusedly. when we first started out, we slept in each other’s arms every night and woke up in a tangle of limbs every morning. but time has gently nudged us into a zone of higher practicality, and so we no longer sleep like that. it comforts me that we have made this transition from square one to square two without any hitches.
sleeping like this is exactly how we spend our quiet hours together, until we both wake, and whisper to each other what we dreamt about. then we get out of bed - i go online and he watches tv behind me. hey come watch this video, i tell him. jeon ji hyun eyes, he says teasingly. my heart flutters and i cannot help but grin as he plants a kiss on my forehead.
i remember how he used to wake me up - both the nice way and the naughty way, which was also nice. i remember my grumpiness when i woke up and how he was always very patient about it even though i would snap at him. no one wakes me up now, and i guess that’s why these days i’m much later than i used to be.
last month, when i was in sri lanka, a guy at the supermarket gave me a sample of Lipton tea and i took it, smiling as i walked away. but after drinking what was in the white paper cup, i ran back helter-skelter to the Lipton guy and demanded to know what drink he gave me. “it’s Lipton’s newest mint latte, madam,” he says. “but it tastes just like coffee bean’s morrocan mint latte!” i exclaim. he looks at me in confusion. “i’ll take 10 boxes,” i tell him. “this guy i know really likes mint lattes. it’s like, *his* drink. he’ll love this.”
i never did get to give you the tea. i just thought it’d make for a nice gift especially since you wont get coffee bean over there. plus this tea comes in convenient little Lipton packets that would go very well with maggi mee. i know you brought maggi mee over, dont bluff. sorry i didnt call to say bye.
September 23rd, 2006
WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.
fingers crossed fingers crossed fingers crossed fingers crossed.
*HOPEFUL GILA BABI SIAL*
September 21st, 2006
so Thailand’s armed forces have declared martial law upon their country in an attempt to remove the Thai prime minister, Thaksin, from government. it all sounds very scary, what with army tanks moving in and being positioned around the city of Bangkok, and the military shutting down news broadcast channels like CNN and CNBC. last i heard, there’s an imposed 10pm curfew tonight.
and that they’re shutting down all phone lines as well as Internet access in Thailand.
soooo, imagine my surprise (and concern! concern! i luv my friends okay!) when i saw Gook on MSN!
».¸.·* pinkpau says:
eh but i thought they were going to shut down ur phone lines and internet
».¸.·* pinkpau says:
so how come ur still here
Gook says:
not yet
Gook says:
mahai cut down my internet i gonna kill them
Gook says:
they can take my pride and my tax money
but not my DOTA!!!
-__- wtf.
people in thailand, take care :( i really hope there’s not gonna be any bloodshed. and that they dont cut off your internet access.
September 20th, 2006
with the Mid Autumn Festival approaching this 6th of October (which is a good day for more than one reason!!), it can only mean one thing.
… the MOONCAKE is back!
for the past month, i’ve been going on a crazy mooncake sampling spree, what with all these funky flavours popping up everywhere (the latest being Cendol mooncake. omg?!) and all these wonderful people in my life who keep giving me mooncakes :D haha despite that i’m still not quite jelak of mooncakes yet. keep bringing them on, i say!
anyways, just thought i’d share 5 of my favourite mooncakes this time around. and dont you tell me you dont like mooncakes. cos everybody loves mooncakes!
Top 5 Mooncakes Of 2006! (so far)
1. Toffee Coconut Mooncake by HYT
Hei Yuet Thong’s toffee coconut mooncake is of the traditional baked variety, but with a lurvely toffee taste laced into its lotus paste filling. at first, i thought adding toffee to lotus paste would make the entire thing way too sweet, but it really tastes just right. the toffee is light and subtle, allowing you to still taste the fragrance of the lotus paste.
this mooncake has a roasted coconut centre that is unbelievably yummy. it’s got a bit of a gula melaka (palm sugar) taste to it, and goes very well with the toffee! this coconut centre along with the kuaci (melon seeds) in the toffee lotus paste lends such texture to each bite. oh damn these crunchy stuff, always leaving me wanting more.
it goes for RM 9.90, and you can get it at Jusco supermarkets.
2. Mini Snowskin Durian Mooncake by Neubay Garden
get this, people - this snowskin mooncake’s filling is REAL durian pulp! lovely genuine, bona fide, unadulterated durian pulp!!! hahaha none of that yucky durian flavoured lotus paste shit, yo. because Neubay Garden uses real durian pulp, the taste of durian in this mooncake is really strong, natural and doesnt have that gross artificial taste. i totally recommend this for durian lovers.
goes for rm4.90, and you can get their mooncakes at the Neubay Garden restaurant in Kampung Pandan or at Jusco supermarkets.
3. Nyonya Sambal Mooncake by Yong Sheng
for the past few weeks, i’ve been pimping this mooncake to ANYONE who will listen to me. i’m like, ‘eh you guys! guess what! that day i had the best ever *SAMBAL* MOONCAKE okay!!!’
.. and the reaction i get every. single. time. is “YUCK!”
haih! people, you must open your mind to all these totally weird but amazing combinations of flavours! but er i must admit that before i met the saleswoman at the Yong Sheng mooncake stand, i was a narrow-minded fool too. i was buying their cheese mooncake (which is bloody good as well, it would have been number 6 if this was a top 6 list) when i saw this sambal mooncake in the display. i pointed at it and said to her, ‘yerr people actually buy that wan ah’. then she opened her eyes wide like this O__O and went ‘miss!!! it’s our bestseller!!!’ i totally didnt believe her. but she insisted it was damn good, and she was so passionate about it, that i just had to see what all the fuss was about. so i bought one home. and tried it.
and i fell in mad, orgasmic love. i swear it. it’s so fucking fantastic that i love it even more than my boyfriend :D
so what it is, is baked skin mooncake with lotus paste and a sambal centre. if you dont know why this is weird .. well it’s cos spicy shrimp paste (sambal!) doesnt usually find its way into mooncakes. or anything sweet for that matter. but see this is the utter genius behind Yong Sheng’s bestseller mooncake (ok aunty i believe you now)! the lotus paste filling isnt as sweet as in most mooncakes, and its subtlety blends in with the savoury sambal like you wont believe. the sambal is not overly spicy either, but is just right. furthermore, in between the baked skin and the filling, there’s this crumbly biscuit layer that just adds more oomph to each bite. yum. this mooncake is an amazing combo of sweet and savoury, and i totally love it, and i will continue to pimp it to everyone i know.
priced at RM 9.75, and you can get it at, yes, Jusco supermarkets.
4. Milk Chocolate Mooncake With Peanut Butter and Puffed Rice Crunch by Mandarin Oriental
Lai Po Heen, the chinese restaurant at the Mandarin does not disappoint once again! encased in a hard milk chocolate shell, this pseudo-mooncake has a filling of totally orgasmic chunky peanut butter along with crunchy bits of puffed rice. the milk chocolate used to make the shell is of fantastic quality, and the whole thing is just *insanely* addictive. it’s like every girl’s PMS solution, man.
(eh guys you can buy this for your girlfriends! they will love it!)
it’s quite reminiscent of the Mars candybar and Reese’s peanut butter cups. haha two things i really like, so it’s no surprise that i absolutely love this mooncake :D i think i’m gonna go back to MO tomorrow and buy some more..
priced at RM 9. you can get it from Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental’s chinese restaurant on the 1st floor.
5. Mini Snowskin Mango Cheese Cake Mooncake by the Prince Hotel
this snowskin mooncake is one of those that you just wanna keep eating. one bite’s not enough, seriously. the cold mango-flavoured snowskin goes well with the cheese filling, and is so refreshing that you cant do with just one portion of it. just gotta have another! :D the snowskin has one of the better textures i’ve seen - not powdery nor too chewy. and the cream cheese filling is great - it doesnt have that cloying feeling that cream cheese normally gives you, but instead has a very light and delicate taste that is just perfect for snowskin-type mooncakes! there are bits of dried mango in the cheese filling as well, which make the mooncake taste absolutely heavenlyyyyy when you pop it into your mouth.
so yummy and refreshing. i lurve it :D
this one goes for RM 10.50, and you can buy them at the top floor of Isetan KLCC as well as Prince Hotel’s chinese restaurant Tai Zi Heen.
————–
this list is in no particular order - my favourites in this list are the Sambal Mooncake and the Chocolate Peanut Butter one :)
oh and if you wanna buy the traditional type mooncakes like plain lotus paste, red bean paste, pandan paste blablabla - buy Tai Thong’s! so the best!
other mooncakes i liked :
Mini Snowskin Chocolate Whiskey by Prince Hotel
Peanut Butter Snowskin Mooncake with Yam Custard by Tai Thong
Cocoa Chocolate Chip Mooncake by Baker’s Cottage
Snowskin Black Sesame Mooncake by Lavender
Coffee Macadamia Mooncake by Renaissance Hotel
September 18th, 2006
this blanket i am wrapped in has a familiar scent. for a moment, i try to remember where i’ve encountered this smell, but realize that i cant. next to me are two mugs of water that have been chilled by the air conditioning - exactly the way i like it. our leftover lunch sits quietly on the floor. i swear to God it is brimming with tension - the edges of the plate are swirling like the heat on afternoon roads and the curve of the spoons seem almost accusatory. i stare hard at the smatterings of red sauce on the sides of the plate.
“i like you a lot,” he blurts out suddenly.
“why?” i ask sharply.
he looks very taken aback. “what do you mean, why?”
“why do you like me?”
slowly and carefully, he says, “when you like someone, there doesnt have to be a reason. if you can put your feelings into words, the truth of it is gone.”
i want to smack my forehead. if this was a scene in a movie, and i was an audience member, i would turn to the person on my right and say, “damn cliche, man. like no other line to use liddat!”. i remember when i was 15 and this explanation was so impressive to me. but now, i’ve heard this cop-out answer so many times i’m beginning to wonder if it’s from some famous movie i never watched or some famous book i never read.
“haha no. i refuse to accept that answer. if you like me, there has to be a reason. you cant like a person for no reason.”
there is a halt in time. he’s blushing so much that i feel a little bit regretful over my reaction. i’m about to open my mouth to say something, anything, when he says -
“because i can’t stop looking at you. everytime i look at you i feel so happy… everytime i look at you i feel like i want to make you happy. and your smile. it’s just so beautiful. and.. and when i send you an sms and you dont reply, i stare at my phone all day just waiting. and it’s how i love to listen to you talk, even when it’s not me you’re talking to. yeah. it’s things like that.”
he’s not looking at me anymore. i cant look at him either. i stare at the red sauce on the plate again.
shit. i dont think anyone has ever answered this question before when i ask. and now that someone has, i dont quite know what to say. quickly i run through all the options in my head. do i say, ‘really?’ or do i say, ‘dont bluff lah’. or do i wrap him up in a big hug? do i kiss him? do i say ‘you dont know what you’re talking about’? finally, i pick silence, cos i’m too chickenshit to do anything else.
and why does it have to be you, i wonder. why cant it be him? why cant it be him who gave me this answer?
“you’re the first girl to ever use this blanket,” he says softly while reaching out to touch the hem of the cloth. hurriedly i throw it back at him, apologising profusely. his eyes widen and he quickly bundles me back up in his blanket. “no no no, i want you to use it. please dont say sorry,” he says in alarm.
i fall into silence again.
he starts. “look. i want to be your -”
there is a loud rap on the door. his housemate wants something. i absolutely cannot believe the timeliness of the interruption. he heaves a sigh of frustration as he goes to open the door. i bury my face in my palms to stifle a groan. i just want this time to breathe, i dont even wanna think about what i have to say when he returns to complete his sentence.
fucking chocolate chip cookies.
September 16th, 2006
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