How To : Make Your Own Potato Salad

Yes, I know that I blogged recently about dieting after Christmas but I couldn't resist the temptation of the potato salad for New Year's. It's easy and simple to make and also pretty filling so it's a good dish to bring for any potluck or gathering that you may have on New Year's Eve.

Ingredients :
1. Potatoes (duh!) - about 6 potatoes will be good enough for 3-4 persons.
2. Eggs - 2 or 3 eggs depending on your preference.
3. Honeydew - quarter of a honeydew.
4. Mayonnaise and milk.

Steps :
1. Dice the potatoes into small cubes and boil them until they're soft.
2. Boil the eggs as well and shell them after they're hard-boiled. Mash them after removing the shells, you may choose to remove the yolks if you are health-conscious.
3. Slice the honeydew into small cubes as well.
4. Prepare the dressing by mixing some milk (just very little) to the mayonnaise to make it smoother and creamier.
5. Mix the ingredients together and chill in the refrigerator. Once the dish is cold enough, it is ready to serve. Put the dish in the freezer for faster cooling action if you're rushed for time.

And ta-da! Your dish is ready for the consumption of all your hungry mates... and yourself too!

Homemade Potato Salad

Travel Review : Penang Butterfly Farm

Running out of ideas on places to bring your family during the school holidays? Why not visit the Penang Butterfly Farm? It's open daily from 9am - 5:30pm (or 6pm on weekends). Located in Teluk Bahang (near the famous Batu Ferringhi), this is an ideal place to bring your kids to. Not only do they get to learn about nature and develop an appreciation for living things, they can also join in various tours and get up close and personal with nature. This outing can easily take up at least half a day if you look at all the sections and spend time to observe the flora and fauna in the farm.

Rice Paper Butterfly - a beautiful black and white butterfly species

Priced at RM20 for adults and RM10 for children, at first the entrance price seems quite steep. But no worries, if you are a Malaysian citizen, just produce your MyKad to get a 50% discount on the entrance fees. They also give the 50% discount for Jusco and Sunshine member cards. :)

The famed Rajah Brooke Birdwing - Malaysia's national butterfly

Besides butterflies, there are also other insects like the leaf and stick insect section -try to spot them as they camouflage into the greenery! They also keep squirrels, monitor lizards, iguanas, scorpions, toads, tarantulas and tortoises among others. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list - there are many other types of animals there. Walk several rounds in the enclosure, you may have missed something on your first round.

A regular branch.. or not? Spot the leaf insect and how many?

If you feel too hot and need to cool down, head for the mini cinema which has air-cond and shows a 15-minute documentary every 30 minutes. There are also live shows where the handler will bring in some small animals and insects - the gecko, some beetles and the stick/leaf insects. You'll be able to touch and hold them with the handler keeping a watchful eye.

Our friendly neighbourhood gecko

On your way out, do stop by the souvenir shop where you can look for some good bargains and pretty trinkets as a remembrance of your trip to the Butterfly Farm. As a final reminder, please remind your children not to litter the grounds and to treat the free-roaming butterflies gently.

How To : Slim Down After Christmas Bingeing

All's been said and done, the fat lady's sung.. you've eaten a whole bunch of food and really, there's no use in crying over spilt milk.

So here we go... a good way to lose weight after all that food. Soup and bread~! Ingenious? We think so. :)

1. Take a can of Campbell's Mushroom Soup and add 1¼ cans of water to it. (The instructions say to put 1 can of water, but we find that too salty for our taste).
2. Put the whole pot to boil over a slow fire and make sure to stir the lumps until they dissolve.
3. Once the soup starts boiling, continue stirring it for 1 minute then take it off the fire to serve.
4. Prepare bread as a side dish to go with the soup - we took wholemeal multigrain bread (well, no sense in cutting out the nutrition when we're trying to lose weight). You may add butter to bread to your taste or dip it plain in the soup.

Soup and bread - the perfect start to getting slimmer!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

In the words of Shakin' Stevens...

Snow is falling all around me
Children playing, having fun

It's the season of love and understanding
Merry Christmas everyone

Time for parties and celebration
People dancing all night long
Time for presents
and exchanging kisses
Time for singing Christmas songs

We're gonna have a party tonight
I'm gonna find that girl underneath the mistletoe,
We'll kiss by candlelight

Room is swaying, records playing
All the songs, we love to hear
All I wish that everyday was Christmas
What a nice way to spend the year....

Merry Christmas all!

How To : Decorate Your Christmas Tree

It's nearly Christmas... how could I forget about the Christmas tree? Seeing one invariably evokes images of the evergreen smell, happiness, food and best of all, presents beneath the tree!

Get yourself a mid-size Christmas tree if you're just starting out. Reason being that you can slowly grow your decorations and not have to get them all at one go, which would cost a bomb! Some people add slowly to their collection and each decoration has a meaning and story behind it, which kinda gives more depth to Christmas.

Start yourself with a theme. Decide what colour you want your tree to be - a multitude of colours would just confuse the senses and give a haphazard feel to the tree. This year we went for silver and red (last year being gold and silver).

After getting your theme, make sure to balance the decorations evenly so that it doesn't seem lopsided. A common mistake is to either decorate the top or the bottom of the tree heavily, leaving the rest sparsely decorated.

Once it is done, string your lights up and put your presents under the tree. Then, all you have left to do is to wait for Christmas! :)

Our red and silver Christmas tree

Merry Christmas to all and happy holidays! :)

Food Review : TGIF Queensbay Mall

We went for lunch at TGIF Queensbay. For once, I skipped over my regular choice of the RM39.90++ set meal and went for the Jack Daniel's steak. It comes complete with the signature Jack Daniel's sauce, mashed potatoes (which were a bit too dry this time around) and some greens. I ordered my steak medium done so that it wouldn't get too rubbery.

Yum! Jack Daniel's Steak

We also got the Jack Daniel's Glazed Ribs (yup, we were in an alcoholic mood!) which wasn't as good as the steak. Probably the meat was not tender enough so it required some strength to saw through the meat. Should have just opted to use our hands and pick off the bones ala barbarian style. :)

Jack Daniel's Glazed Ribs

Took the Premium Fresh Orange which was a tad too sour for my taste buds. All in all, TGIF delivers great food as usual. But skip the orange juice if you prefer your drinks to be more sweet.

Food Review : Economy Rice

A short review of the general hawker food in Penang. Food prices seem to still be going up (I seem to be running into a lot of high priced food these days!) although fuel prices are coming down in the past 2-3 weeks.

Here's a sample of the economy fast food rice we had the other day at Golden Hawker Center near to I-Avenue, Bayan Lepas. The dishes were a spot of ikan bilis, some vege and a few fried chicken bits. The price? RM3.50. Seems a bit steep to me for that bit of food.

Economy Rice Fast Food Style

What do you think? Was the price worth it?

Food Review : Prosperity Burger at McDonald's

Yup, it's the end of the year and the Beef Prosperity Burger is back! Usually launching around this time of year to coincide with the Chinese New Year, the burger comes complete with twister fries and a drink in the McValue meal. The burger is just overflowing the signature black pepper sauce which may come across as too spicy for some folks.

The Beef Prosperity Burger

The burger size, however, seems to be shrinking every year while the price is ballooning up! A large McValue meal for this has shot up to an amazing RM14.88 (excluding tax) and McDonald's has introduced the Double Beef Prosperity Burger meal for something along the lines of Rm18.88.

Perhaps that is the reason why they do not put the prices on display at their McDonald's website.

Unless you make it a point to grab the seasonal Prosperity Burger when it launches, I would recommend giving this meal a miss. Personally, I would rather fork out my RM15 bucks for some Christmas shopping rather than an overpriced burger and fries.

Product Review : Apple iPhone 3G

The Apple iPhone 3G is no longer new to the market, it's been blogged about, talked about and received more coverage than many other phones. Full features can be found at the Apple website.

Some pretty cool features of the iPhone 3G is the upgraded capability of the phone with added features like the 3G (obviously), third party software enabling and GPS among others. The new contoured shape fits more snugly into your palm and gives a more comfortable feel when holding the phone. Of course, the new model gives a faster response time especially when loading webpages, nearly 50% faster as compared to the original iPhone.

It's pretty fast and painless the update and change different applications on the iPhone. So you always seem to have new applications flowing in and out of the interface. And a big plus for the new iPhone is the improved call quality compared to the old one.

However, the iPhone is not without its downsides, the bluetooth still connects only to the earphones and nothing else. This is definitely something that Apple can consider upgrading on the next release. The built-in camera still remains at 2MP which is quite outdated compared to other phones on the market. The quality of the pictures is not good and tends to give shaky pictures.

Battery life is not very powerful especially when it's put through heavy usage. The battery depletes much faster in comparison to the old iPhone. The contoured curve feels good in the palm but wobbles when placed on flat surfaces. I'm not too keen on the plastic back of the new iPhone. And of course the 3G service fluctuates depending on the provider, service area and number of users in the area.

The price ranges from RM2400 - 2600 for the 16G model. For that price and features, I would still go for the Sony Ericsson G900 (see the review).

Food Review : Butterworth Cafe

We went to this pretty hidden cafe along the main road of Jalan Bagan Ajam. The first impression I got of the place was a pretty rustic feel. The entrance was particularly fascinating, as it had that cowboy swing doors that made you feel like rushing out to get your cowboy hat and spurs.

The swing-door entrance

The food on the menu looked normal. It is the standard western fare that you would be able to get from most cafes. Price-wise, it was not very expensive. All in all, a normal cafe feel and price.

We ordered chicken cordon bleu and the fish cordon bleu too. What can I say, can't get too much of a good thing!

Fish Cordon Bleu

Pros :
1. The place looked clean and well-kept.
2. The old-style feel was a nice constrast to other cafes which emphasize on modern furnishings.

Cons :
1. Not sure whether the food stock was new because of the low turnover.
2. Hard to spot although it is along the main road due to the poor signage.

Conclusion : Good to drop in for a visit if you are in the area, but not worth travelling far distances just to get to this place.

How To : Office Decor Part II

Now you've completed your wall decoration (see Office Decor Part I), or perhaps you do not have a wall to decorate, why not try to jazz up your work area?

Small decorative items or a small aquarium will not take up much space. You can also choose to put a small bamboo (or knitted) mat to place your keyboard on. I rather forgo that because my keyboard tends to collect dust and various unidentified bits of junk.

I decided to put a small money plant on my desk to brighten up the place. Plus I needed the oxygen... Here's what I did:

1. Get some plant jelly and soak them with water till they expand. Here's what the plant jelly looks like :

2. Get some small cuttings of the plant you want. I selected the money plant because it's relatively easy to grow and does not need much upkeep.
3. Arrange it and add some finishing touches to it.
You're all set to go with a fresh new look on your work desk!

How To : Office Decor Part I

Cubicle walls are usually a bland space of colour. Liven it up with pictures from your recent vacation, or pepper it with photos of your family and loved ones. Even scribbles or drawings from your little ones will give it your personal touch.

Since I'm not much of a photo or picture person, here's what I did with my cubicle wall instead.

Things that were used:
1. A box of map pins, these are easily available at any stationery shop.
2. My collection of key chains from my travels.

And that's it. Simple, eh? Just arrange it to your preference and voila! End result as below :

My newly decorated cube wall

How To : Keep Energized At Work!

1. Take A Break
Even if it is just a quick 5-minute chat with your colleague or watching a short funny video clip, the break will be refreshing to both your eyes and your mind.

2. Be Positive
Keep focused on the positive aspects of your work. Perhaps you have flexible work hours which helps you juggle personal and work issues. Or think back on that successful project you ran and your contributions that made it so successful.

3. Have A Lively Workspace
Put some personal touches to your workspace. Photos of family or places that you've been to will brighten up your working area. Plants or a small aquarium (see post on Cherry Shrimp and subsequent posts on how to upkeep them) will also help you to de-stress.

4. Stretching Helps!
Every hour, do some exercises to help your muscles relax. Ergo issues crop up when the muscles remain locked in place for long periods of time. Flexing your fingers and arms, standing up and closing your eyes for a minute will help loosen those muscles.

5. Get Some Personal "Me" Time
Life isn't all about work. Working on projects may stretch your working day into nights and around the clock. Make sure that you do allocate some time off to do your personal stuffs, like catching a movie at the cinema, or eating a good dinner with friends or family.

Cherry Shrimp - Basic Tank

If you want to start rearing cherry shrimp, the good advice is to start with a small tank and gradually as the shrimp grows and multiply, then you can get a bigger tank and more 'toys'. In this article, we show you how to set up a basic tank and what to watch out for.

Tank: The basic tank which we use here can be bought at any aquarium shop. It costs between RM11 - RM15.

Sand: The foundation of the aquarium, we put brown sand which you could get from the seaside so it is free of charge. But here's something you need to watch for. As the sand from the seaside are salty sand, you need to wash the sand to reduce the saltiness. Caution: Cherry shrimp don't cope well with salty sand. So make sure you wash the sand really well.

Stones: You can collect the stones from the seaside as well. As with the sand, make sure to wash well.

Water: Household water usually contain too much chlorine, which may just kill the cherry shrimp. You may choose to buy the de-chlorination liquid from any aquarium shop. Another alternative would be to fill up a pail with water from the pipe and leave it expose to air for 3 days. This should de-chlorination process and cost you nothing.

How To : Cook Instant Noodles And Make It Tasty!

Instant noodles ranks as one of my top favourite foods since I was young. With garnishings, even this simplest dish can become a truly delicious meal. :) Here's how to do it.

Ingredients :
1. Instant Noodles (any brand, but I personally prefer Cintan Original)
2. Fresh chilli (the more pungent, the better!)
3. Vegetables (I usually go for sawi/Chinese mustard greens)
4. An egg

Steps :
1. Start boiling the pan of water.
2. Throw in the chilli and cut-up vegetables while the water is starting to heat up.
3. Make sure you sprinkle a bit of the seasoning into the water to flavour the vegetables.
4. Once the vege starts to get soft (to taste), throw in the instant noodles and the rest of the seasoning.
5. When the soup is boiling, crack open the egg and mix slowly with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Once egg is cooked, the dish is ready to be served!

The whole process takes about 5-10 minutes depending on how soft you like your noodles and vegetables. And the end result as below :

My super delicious yummy instant noodles :)

Now, time to stop posting and start eating! :)

Happy December 1st!!

It's the start of December, the month of joy and cheer, massive eating and merry holidays! :) Christmas is just around the corner, and by the time you know it, the year's already over and we're ushering in the new year... 2009!!

For some of us, perhaps 2008 was a pleasing year.. full of memories and highs. For others, perhaps it was a bit more challenging. Whatever it was, hope 2009 will be a wonderful year for all of you!