White Christmas and Thanksgiving

Oliver said it's snowing in Kaiserslautern now. We might have a white christmas. Our very first white christmas together. I haven't experienced snow since 2 decades ago when I was six. So many things happened since then. Things that made me who I am today. I'm grateful for everything, the good, the bad and the ugly not that I have many of the ugly ones, thank God. I'm grateful for my family, for Oliver and his family, my friends, my job, my colleagues,  everything except for that occasional traffic jam. That I'd rather live without. So yes, I guess I just want to thank each and everyone of all the people I've known throughout my life and most of all God. I know thanksgiving was just few days ago but I guess it's never too late to give thanks.

Terima Kasih, Xie Xie, Danke, Thank you. Ta.

Cook 100: Stir Fried Japanese Tofu with Mince Beef

I made this for dinner today. Prepared the ingredients as in the picture. I didn't get the recipe from any website. Maybe a bit of cooking tips.

• So basically, I marinated the mince beef with a spoon of chinese wine and a spoon of corn starch and leave it for 30 mins.
• After that, I prepared the sauce; 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of chinese wine, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of msg (not necessary) and 4 dashes of white pepper.
• For the base, I simply fried the egg and once cooked, I just laid it on the plate.
• Then, I started frying the tofu which was tricky because, it's soft and you don't want to smash/break it. Once it's golden brown, you take the tofu-s out and laid it on top of the fried egg (some may call it omelette, a plain one that is)
• For the sauce, I started by saute-ing the garlic, then put in the tiny cube-like red and green pepper and then put in the mince beef and started cooking it until it's well cooked. Added in the sauce. Then, put in the corn starch mixed with 4 tablespoon of water. Stir it and once sizzling, pour the sauce on the tofu-s and voila, you have Japanese Tofu with mince beef.

So, I was not satisfied with this dish. One, because the dish was a bit dry and another, well, I've always had my Japanese Tofu with either mince chicken or mince pork and this was the first time I had it with mince beef. I decided that this is my least favourite combination. Just don't like the distinct taste of the beef. So, that's for today's dish. Think I'm gonna lay off cooking for a day or two and opt for lighter dinner. Ta.

German 100: Ich bin unterwegs

Hallo, wie gehts?

So, I've been learning and picking up common German's phrases and verbal expressions. Mainly from YouTube. I reckon it's so much more fun learning it from Youtube, be it a song or simple dialogues from native Germans. So some of the videos that I dig:-

Haha, I find the third one funny because of the awkward acting and all.

Oh well, if it makes it easier to learn, then why not.

Cook 100: Sweet & Sour Chicken and other dishes

Parents are back for the weekend so I offered to cook lunch. I decided today's menu will be Stir Fried Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onion since I still had some fish fillet left from the other day, also to make it for the second time. Practice makes perfect. Also in the menu; Sweet & Sour Chicken and Baby Kailan with Garlic, both favourite dishes of mine.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

8 oz. boneless and skinless chicken breast (cut into bite-size cubes)
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine (optional)
1 green bell pepper (seeds removed and cut into squares)
1 stalk scallion (cut into 2-inch lengths)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Oil for frying

Batter:
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons chili sauce (Lingam hot sauce)
1 teaspoon plum sauce
1/2 teaspoon Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Chinese rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
3 dashes white pepper powder
2 tablespoons oil

I had all except for Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce.

Cooking method: Cut the chicken breast meat into bite-size cubes and marinate with 1 tablespoon of wine for 10 minutes. Mix the batter in a bowl and add the chicken cubes into the batter. Mix the sweet and sour sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat up cooking oil in a wok and deep fry the chicken cubes. (Shake off the extra batter before frying). Transfer the chicken out on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Transfer the cooking oil out and leave only 2 tablespoons oil in the wok.

Add garlic and saute the garlic until light brown and then follow by the green bell peppers. Stir-fry until you smell the aroma. Add the sweet and sour sauce into the wok and bring it to boil. Toss in the chicken, add the chopped scallions, do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve immediately with steamed white rice. Credits.

End result, voila!

Stir Fried Fish Fillet with Ginger & Spring Onion

I cooked this for the second time and I think it tasted better because I used a non-stick pan, so I can actually let it simmer for a bit for the flavour to really soak in. The other day, I used the common wok and the fish stuck to it, so I had to cook it in a haste.

Baby Kailan with Garlic & Oyster Sauce

The ingredients are exactly that. (The ones mentioned in the title)



I think I quite enjoy cooking once I put my heart into it. And so far, with the right ingredients, the dishes turned out alright. My family seconded that. Even my brother Marshal, who is a chef-to-be gave his stamp of approval. I think I'm going to try baking next.

Cook 100: Stir Fried Fish Fillet with Ginger & Spring Onion

Oliver and I were talking about me cooking or rather his lack of confidence in me cooking. How downright insulting right?!? That nerve of him. But in all honesty, I'm not exactly 'THAT' good in cooking. I mean, I cook albeit not all the time. And I think if you ask me how to cook curry chicken for instance, I'd sort of figure out how to make it. Although, I've never single handedly cook curry chicken. But hey, it's common sense, no? All you need is chicken, curry powder, coconut milk, some spices, etc. Anyways, you know what they say about the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Like you got to feed him good and he'll love you more and yada yada. But yeah, I guess, men, generally, like women who knows how to cook. As in not just instant noodle or fried egg, but proper wholesome dishes. Oliver once mentioned that I actually scored some 'brownie points' because I bake. Apparently, one of the criterias he wanted for a wife was one who knows how to bake. So, I guess, good for me.

Back to cooking, since I have not cook a 'wholesome' dish for awhile, I thought, perhaps, I should. You know, sharpen my 'domestic' skills a bit. So I googled a few Asian dishes, since if I go over to Germany, Oliver, who sometimes complained that he misses a good ol' Asian dishes, would appreciate it. Anyways,  I decided to do Stir Fried Fish Fillet with Ginger & Spring Onion which I often order when I go to a chinese restaurant.

I've got the recipes from here. It's quite simple to cook and end result, well, it was delicious if i may say so myself.

So here's a start to hopefully, many series of shared recipes. Ta.

Choosing a dress

I think it is every girl's dream to be a princess on her wedding day. I doubt boys would actually think the same or else it'll be just weird. I'm still trying to decide 'the dress' to wear. A friend of mine suggested to try many type of dresses because what might look good on the models, racks or others might not look the same on Yours Truly. I did some browsing through and stumbled upon Eden Bridal's website. So yeah, I saw a few dresses that I like and bookmarked. See below. Think I might have a common theme for my dress which is romantic laces and bits of tulles. Oh well. I plan to start looking for 'the dress' come January. For now, I need to just shed a bit of weight so I would complain less about looking puff when trying on dresses.

Dresses above are from Eden Bridal

Choosing a venue

For the past few weeks, I have been going back and forth to decide where to hold our wedding reception. My idea was to have it close to nature. But then, there weren't many choices here in Kota Kinabalu. I, initially thought of Lembah Impian but was still a bit doubtful. So, I look around, got quotations from hotels and resorts. But I still rather have our first reception 'not' be in a ballroom. So, we came back to my first choice, which is Lembah  Impian. Earlier today, I made an appointment with its manager, May, because they happened to have a wedding today and she invited me to go over to see how they organize the wedding. Together with me was mum and cousin Elsie.



Mumsie and I



Cousin enjoying her chocolate brownies



The 'could be' reception area

Discussing with the manager, May.



Mum and daughter talks



More talks



Considering the white marquee for my reception



Calculating wedding cost

$_$

Books and wedding

I guess for someone who loves books, I find these pictures and the idea of a library-themed wedding really cute. So simple yet almost dreamy like.

Pictures from Jessica Claire

Books & Cameras

Sometimes, we talk about our future home. How we both would like some space to call our own. Like Oliver, he would like to have a studio for his photography. For me, I'd like a corner with a nice comfy sofa, a standing lamp and a shelf of books. I was looking through Rachel Thurston photography blog when I came across this picture and I thought 'How ideal!'.

Picture above from Rachel Thurston's blog.

 

Of us...

When Oliver and I decided to take our so called pre-wedding photos, we both agreed that we wanted a fun and casual photo session that allows us to show our personalities as individuals and as a couple. So, we engaged a photographer friends of ours, Cedric and Adrian from Shepherd Pictures. Our photo sessions which took place at several locations, from cafes, fishing villlage to memorial park and beach was all fun. So here are some of my favourite photos.

Thanks Cedric & Adrian for the wonderful pictures. We'll see you guys during our big day. :)

So...

Christmas is coming, right? Like next month...

Above apparels are all from H&M

I'm just saying. :)