welcome 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

yes, yes, i'm counting down at home by the tv.
don't really wanna squeeze with the crowd at the
countdown places, and have problems getting home after that...

my new year resolutions:

- lower my cholesterol levels
- build and tone up my body
- start my marketing grad. dip. course
- learn guitar
- get our 2nd Soiree Award
- continue traveling

and counting.......

footprints in vietnam

can't wait to share with you the joys and fun i had during my 8 days in vietnam (22/12/07- 29/12/07)

day 1:

Hotel => SLEEP!!!
i really need my beauty sleep coz i woke up at 3am to catch the
morning flight from spore to saigon.

with a super big suite room, with a super big bathtub, what else can i ask for?
in the afternoon, chou chou brought me to a traditional Hue restaurant for lunch.

they serve really nice spring rolls

and yes, they've got their safety helmets now (effective: 15/12/07). it's a booming business for helmet sellers.

next stop, reunification or independence palace. to my disappointment, there're just rooms, rooms and more rooms. but well, it's really very BIG!

before heading back to the hotel, i went to a spa and massage centre and had one of the best massages i've ever had. they're really professional and i was treated like a king for 4 full hours!!! .... and now you know why i felt like a king. i took the emperor package

this is chou chou

and her bIkE

day 2:

on my way to dalat, city of flowers. on the bus ride to dalat, i met a new dutch friend, marco.

he had been in vietnam and cambodia for the past 2 months, teaching and travelling.

the trip was a torturous 10 hours. my head, neck, back, butt n legs were aching all over when i arrived in dalat. dalat was not really that cold when i arrived but well, at least cool enough to compensate for the scorching heat in saigon.

it's a very nice place with beautiful scenary,

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flowers,

flowers,

flowers,

and flowers, everywhere,
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beautiful weather,
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and beautiful people.

awww....isn't he lovely?

i stayed in a nice and cosy villa hotel. small, simple and clean.

and had dinner with marco in the evening at a restaurant as featured in the lonely planet.

when night falls, it was freezing.....

day 3:
breakfast was delivered to my room, i had my favourite pho (vietnamese beef noodle).



i joined the sinhcafe tour on a dalat city tour. got to know many travellers in this day trip.
dalat's really very beautiful.

we visited the pren waterfalls,

thoa from hanoi

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how carefree....

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Bao Dai palace, for the last king of vietnam

yep, we've to wear this inside the summer palace

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the crazy house (well, it's not really that crazy)


and the valley of love....


celebrated my first christmas eve abroad.

thai ha and myself had dinner at sister tu anh's restaurant and she kept complaining on how tough it was when she set up the restaurant and blah blah blah....

but it's not as tough as her pancake. it's ROCK HARD!

another freezing xmas eve night.....

day 4:

owners of the villa

merry christmas and goodbye dalat.
harlow nha trang
nha trang's a beautiful beach resort and serve rather cheap and fresh seafood.

i had pho AGAIN for dinner...really love it.
unfortunately, it's not as good as the ones i had in saigon.


day 5:

went on a boat trip with loads of people. met many vietnamese who migrated to US many years ago. heard their stories and i was simply enlightened on the harshness of life during the vietnam war. the boat trip was fun and i reckon the super hyped people were the crew themselves, even more excited than the tourists.


how amazing it was when they converted the seats on the boat into our lunch table.
we had lunch on board...

and champagne in the sea...

at night, i took the bus back to saigon. another 10 tormenting hours....


day6:

chou chou brought me around the parts of saigon, esp district 5 where the chinese lived and worked.

every food's cold in saigon, including their green bean and peanut soup

x'mas lightings at saigon centre

watched a traditional vietnamese water puppet show in the evening.

(not watching vietnamese water puppet show

means not visiting vietnam yet!)

how gimmicky...

at least that's the reason why i watched it.

day 7:

the big day finally arrived! it's not my big day, it's Son's and Trang's. of course I'm equally excited, not only because it's my first time attending a vietnamese wedding, but also i'm involved in the actual procession of the ceremony right from the morning.

me at Son's place in the morning,

to bring the offerings to the bride's house

nervous Son

and cheeky Trang

and here's teamNUS: (from left to right)

me, sherry, son, trang,kit yin, foong yin, jocelyn and ruth

best wishes to Son & Trang once again

many thanks trang for inviting me to share your joy. i can truly say it's my one of the most joyous and memorable weddings i've attended. had thoroughly enjoyed myself the whole day.

day 8:

chou chou brought me to a vietnam broken rice restaurant for breakfast.


after which, brought me to buy my favourite cha luoc (vietnamese ham).

after 8 days of stay in vietnam, i'm beginning to love this place very much.
seen and felt things which i've never had experienced during the last trip.
thanks to chou chou, trang, son, thai ha and other friends who made this trip so much fun.

goodbye vietnam and see you real soon...

Kong Bak Pau recipe

Time to reveal my very own secret Kong Bak Pau （扣肉包）recipe.
This recipe's passed down from my mum and my own improvisation
from other recipes.


Ingredients as follow:

Pork Belly(三层肉), let's say 600g
Cinnamon (桂皮 )
Star Anise (八角)
Clove (丁香)
Garlic
Oyster Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce
Coke. Yes, Coca Cola.

Methods:

1. Marinate the pork belly with Light and Dark Soy Sauce (about 3-4 teaspoons), Oyster Sauce (about 2 teaspoons) Cinnamon (2-3), Star Anise (15-20), Cloves (10-15), Garlic (1 bulb) for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

2. Preheat a pot with some 1 tablespoon of oil and saute few cloves of garlic to fragrant. Add in pork belly and all marinated sauce, stir fry to ensure even cooking.

3. Pour in Coke, sufficient to cover the meat. Turn up to high heat and bring the whole mixture to boil. When the sauce is nearly dried out, add in more Coke and boil again, this time in lesser amount. Repeat until the meat is soft. (You might want to add water after 2 rounds of Coke, so that it'll not be too sweet). Simmer for about 30mins.

4. Kong Bak is ready to be served with steamed bun and lettuce. yummy....