The start of the Holidays pt 1...

Got the pictures from Hau Yee, looked through all 662 pictures then selecting them then realized that I have to write this posts in parts because we just have too many pictures which are interesting enough to post.

Group picture at the studio after crit.

Well, the start of the holiday went great. After our sort of last drink as a group at the "slow place" at Taylors PJ, me, Lau, Clement, Gordon and Hau Yee headed down to K.L. city to book a place at Sasaki first. Lucky for us, it was a smooth ride with no heavy traffic jams and we got to the car park by 5 p.m. Went to the restaurant to book tables for 25 people (because we didn't know how many will turn up), then we started snapping photos to kill time. Sasaki's Japanese buffet starts at 630 you see so we ended up chilling at Pavillion for the next hour.

Guess who?

Rawr!!!

The decorations at Pavillion was so nice that Hau Yee took out her D90 and started snapping away (with us in it of course). The lights were beautiful and created a nice ambiance, very Christmassy.

I love Christmas!

Here are all the shots while we were waiting and trust me.... This is just "part" of it. HAHA.

Inside:

Group picture! So Christmassy..

Half faces

Half heads...

Outside:

YESS!! FREEDOM!

Well, this is all for part 1. Part 2 will be on the dinner at Sasaki.. Now, I just can't wait to go home on Sunday. Now, I need to clean up the mess I made during the stressful week last week. Sigh....

Yummy Lamb stew! And Yes, I cooked it!

Thought of cooking dinner today and well, I did. Went grocery shopping a few days ago. Cooking at home is so much cheaper and healthier I think. So, todays dish, I wish to present to you, Lamb Stew (Aaron's style [student style. Didn't have all those fancy herbs and wine]).

It's a very simple dish actually. I learned it from one of the best chef I know, my dad.

All you need are:

Onions, garlic, carrots, leek, peppers, and potatoes.

And not forgetting, the lamb. You can use beef or chicken if you like.

Marinate the lamb with rosemary, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Grill it on a pan with a little bit of garlic. Grilling it will allow the flavor of the meat come out in a way.

Grill till the meat is slightly charred or browned. Take the meat off the pan (do not clean the pan just yet) and allow it to rest.

While you let the meat rest, fry the vegetables with the excess juices and oil from the meat. Its not necessary but I like my veggies slightly grilled, taste better.

DON'T overcook the veggie. After you're done, transfer the veggies into a pot, put in the lamb next.

Pour the amount of water you desire (depends how soupy you want your stew to be). Put 2 dried basil leaves, rosemary, salt and black pepper into the stew for seasoning. Then let it boil.

When it starts to boil, let it simmer for another 15-30 minutes or so. At the mean time, start cleaning up the cooking area (unless you have someone to do it for you). Don't forget to stir.

Cook some rice (if you prefer rice) or you can get some french loaf. It's up to you. In this case, I chose rice.

Serve it any way you like and Woahla.... There you have it, a simple delicious home cooked Lamb stew... Enjoy.. I know its very brief. Any questions? Just ask me. HAHA.

Gathering with old school mates

I just touched down in Sibu yesterday and tonight, I had a gathering with some of my old school mates. Just in time because they are all leaving for their respective Universities. Some are in Japan (2 actually), one in U.S.A., one in India (JO JO), 2 in U.K. and the rest from K.L. (including me).
Not many photos but it was a memorable night. We started out at this Korean BBQ place near Paramount hotel with some steamboat/BBQ thingy. Chit chatted and catch up on our where-a-bouts while enjoying the "spread"(inside joke). Yes, the place was sort of warm so Ian provided us with cold jokes to chill the place.

The group... All 13 of us.


The girls.

The night progressed and before I knew it, we were on our way to Muhibah for desert and supper. Imagining having just finishing dinner a half hour before and having supper straight after.
At Muhibah, we headed to stall number 5 which according to the rest sells the best "Shui Guo Bing" (literal translation, Fruit Ice or in correct terms Fruity Shaved Ice Desert with jelly) in town. Though we just had our dinner, some ordered some fried snacks. One even ordered a plate of "Kampua" and he even dubbed himself as the "Kampua" King.

"Kampua" King (Ian Eng): "Stay away from my bowl of "Kampua"!!!"

Oh yea, an advice to those who wish to go there to eat the desert because the Aunty at stall 6 (Liasing with stall 5) will ask you why you order food from other stall and not her's and will force you to order a plate of snacks from her; and not in a polite way. But I guess business is bad so she had to do that and maybe she is just cranky because she is old (my speculations that is).

Waited for nearly half an hour for the drink to arrive (Imagine having to make 12 bowls of this and that there were other customers besides us) and when it finally did, everyone was smiling and glad it was finally out. Conversation resumed and I found out that for my batch, there were actually many engineers and lawyers in the making which is a good thing just in case I get sued one day or if I need someone to help calculate the crazy designs to be built. Right?(Just joking guys and gals.)

The verdict... Yep, its one of the best I had in Sibu so far. Not too sweet and plenty of fruits and jellies inside. Anyone can guess how much is one bowl with and without peaches?

Great fun and great memories. Some of whom I haven't met since I finished F5 which was 4 years ago. Nice to be able to meet up with them once again. Too bad they are going back soon. See you in another 4 years or so. Hopefully the SMK Methodist Alumini will plan something in the future. Can't wait to see what everyone has become since leaving school....

Now I suddenly feel very old....
*Wallow in self thoughts*

Steamboat at Summers Bandar Sunway, 18/09/09

After all the hard work, it was time to celebrate by hanging out and just having fun. Didn't hang out with the usual gang because most of them went back or already made plans. Well, no matter, we decided to "BUKA PUASA" with Zaki and Najat at Summers. The steamboat place we went to for Darren and Wai Sie's birthday. We reached there right on time to "Buka" and it was Najat who started putting all the food in.

She just couldn't wait.

It was a very simple dinner. Just chilling and hanging out and eating. Me, Gordon, Li Qun, Najat, Zaki and Becca waited and ate for an hour before the rest arrived. They were late due to traffic jam and rain. What a perfect weather for steamboat!

Dinner was great. Plenty of food. Plenty of jokes and chit chats and no leftovers. Finished everything. Yum yum!

For desert, ice-cream and more ice-cream!

After dinner, it was the typical photography session where many pictures were taken; group photos and all.

We had funny pictures....

Plain odd ones.

And normal ones of course.

And this is our group photo. Taken with Daphne's digi-lomo camera.

And of course, the self-interpretation photo. HAHA.

After dinner, headed for Starbucks and chilled there while enjoying the cool night breeze. Didn't order anything but we had a lot of fun just talking and relaxing. Man, going to miss these moments next year when we all go out separate ways. Thanks guys for the wonderful night.