Grubs and Rambles All about my life abroad focusing on hobbies and crafts among other things

Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Visitors Out: Total Visitors Out: 8 0 33 33

Green Tea
2008-02-25 17:51:32
My sister has been pestering me to try drinking Green Tea and remove coffee from my diet since late last year. Ages ago , I was into Green Tea but that was only because my ex –manager , had a little Chinese tea ‘outlet’ at his desk and to unwind from ‘stress’ he usually invites his two little helpers (me and another colleague) to enjoy his HIGH grade green tea collection.But after resigning, I hardly ever drink tea again except for the occasionally teh tarik. Now I am back with drinking tea, although coffee is still my main choice. I must admit that it does not taste weird I guess all those years of drinking Green tea with my ex-manager has paid off.Green Tea is of course highly known for its anti-oxidants properties. Among the many benefits of drinking Green tea are :Weight Loss (Yup you heard me right)It is used in skin care products to reduce acne and eczema (drinking it as normal also helps)It is a natural mouthwash (good news to hygienic challenged people)Reduces the pos ...

Home and away
2008-02-24 01:12:35
It is never easy uprooting and living abroad, away from your comfort zone and family. Those of us who have tried this at least once, would say the first few months are the hardest but as time passes on it definitely gets easier.The main thing about living abroad, is not to let the differences of culture bring you down. It is always a good idea to mingle with the locals to be fully integrated into the society and also respect their culture even though at times you might come across to those who don't return the favour. Many of us who opted for working in a foreign land, would say that we are searching for a better life and future. That does not mean that we are obsess with the green stuff but it means that we can do the same work somewhere else for more money but less stress. Personally for us being here is only a temporary measure , for we definitely have plans to return home permanently. Home is always the best place. Differences of cultures could be a main thing why some people tend ...

Post Brits
2008-02-23 20:27:48
Overall, I thought it was a good show. The Osbornes did not fail to meet my expectations by doing a terrible job i.e Sharon. She was a bit OTT and her verbal diarrhoea was really inappropriate. All the live perfomances were awesome to say the least. Good on Amy for managing to perform without staring into space with a blank expression , her cheesy 'I love you , Blake' during her solo performance should have been given a miss.Kylie as usual is a true performer, so was Sir Paul M - only a real legend is able to rock the house down :) I was a bit shocked to see Adele wearing the same attire as she had worn during her appearance in the Lily Allen with friends show (just a day before) to accept her award. She definitiely need to hire a new stylist.Big winners of the night were Take That and Arctic Monkeys , Rihanna and Leona went home empty handed. Good version of the Umbrella ella ella song , good call on the collaboration with the Klaxons. It was indeed funny to see, when artists or celeb ...

Do you remember this?
2008-02-22 00:55:19
Click play to the above youtube video. If you were at a child age during the late 80's and early 90's , you would probably have at least watched this once. My favourite sketch would be Mathnet , which I think may have played a part on why I love crime solving movies or tv series now. :) But have never been good at mathematics , I guess I enjoyed all the music in this show more than anything else. :)"The story you're about to see is a fib, but it's short. The names are made up but the problems are real.""My name is Monday. I'm a mathematician.""Speaking Frankly -- I mean, Frankly speaking.""Mathematicians! Freeze!!" ...

Never walk alone
2008-02-20 08:42:00
they must do well in tonight's match... RESULTS: 2-NIL! Just the kind of performance that they needed! Go Reds! ...

Brit Awards 2008
2008-02-19 18:23:06
Do not miss the Brit Awards 2008 live on ITV @ 8pm which will be hosted by the Osborne family. Yikes, help us all! Well done to Adele for getting the Critic's Choice Award, even though she did not secure the number 1 spot in UK top 40 singles. Live performances from Sir Paul McCartney , Kylie Minogue (please let it be the Wow Wow), Kaiser Chiefs(Yay), Leona Lewis (oh no the bleeding song), Mika , Mark Ronson (Hurrah) and Rihanna ( get your brollies ready for this one). Definitely a night in tomorrow night.... ...

It is a bit early
2008-02-19 18:10:01
for me to be joyous that Spring is coming, but I just couldn't resist. Winter is not officially over yet, but we have been having a good run of sunny weather that I wish that Spring is here tomorrow. At least for the past week , it has been a positive sign to what Spring may be this year. Let's just hope that this year we will have a good Spring and Summer for that matter unlike last year's 'Umbrella' Summer! The above picture was taken last Friday. Here's to Spring season, come on! ...

It is back on
2008-02-19 18:05:44
pic courtesy of BBC's websiteHurrah ! It is back on tonight Hotel Babylon! I just can't wait. I wasn't a fan when it first was aired but after watching few more episodes , I can now say that I am quite a fan.Another show that I like watching on BBC 1 at the moment is Damages. Again, when I first watched the pilot, I thought to myself 'nahh this is not worth watching' But thanks to BBC's Iplayer , I have changed my tune. Sometimes I am tempted to get the spoilers to Damages, I just want to know what happens at the end but on the other hand I don't want to know as that would kill my TV watching schedule. :) ...

Gifts for everyone!
2008-02-16 18:12:55
Need a special something for a momentus occasion? Or a gift to cheer up a special someone?Why not have a gander at Heart 2 Heart Gift Baskets.NEW! Handmade earrings and bracelets !!!!!___________________________________________________Check out a newly launched website here! ...

Chermin
2008-02-09 16:53:00
Hubby has bought a lot of DVD mostly horror or comedy (Malay movies) from his recent trip. Out of the lot, one dvd stood out Chermin just because the cover was eye catching. As I loaded the DVD into the player - my expectations were quite low having seen other previous scary movies (Malay) it has been a waste of time. But after we've finished watching the movie, Hubby and I were quite surprised that Chermin was quite a good movie. Maybe there was only one flaw but perhaps that was done in purpose for dramatisation , they should have really covered the wound on the main actress's face -nobody in their right mind would expose an open plus bleeding wound. Maybe involving the expertise from Thailand and Korea was a good call. Oh and I just recall a second flaw - Deanna Y. unable to speak BM without her foreign accent. For me that was a bit of a letdown. If you have not seen one good decent Malay movie for a long time, do not miss the chance to watch Chermin. ...

Facebook
2008-02-09 16:02:15
I was watching the countdown of the most Annoying Thing/Person in 2007 programme a few months ago. Facebook came in at number 10. Most of you must be a member of Facebook by now. Facebook (FB) started in 2004, a major hit in the US , basically FB is a social networking website initially set up to bring together Harvard students. The creator of FB is Mark Zuckerberg ( a 23 year old Jewish American who is currently the CEO of FB), who was a Harvard student himself when he designed the site - supported by various of other people. Many of you may not know, but FB was used during the Virgina TEch massacre to seek for help by trapped students. Which I think gave an indirect advertising element of FB to the rest of the world. Okay so that is a brief background of FB. I dont think I find FB annoying but I do/did find some of the applications addictive. I found that these applications are very bad for myself and I even got annoyed with Hubby when I could not be on the pc to play the games onFB. ...

Mee Kari = Curry Noodles
2008-02-09 01:53:12
I recently tried the recipe for Mee Kari from CARI Makan & Resipi. I ve improvised as usual, but Hubby was pleased with the result , so I guess it was good then :) ...

Rendang ayam = Chicken rendang
2008-02-09 01:50:47
Now Im sure there is no English translation for the word 'rendang'. :) But if I am wrong, please let me know.This recipe was taken from Mesra Net and I prepared it the day after the curry mee day. There are a lot of variations of Chicken Rendang on the above mentioned website. I have tried a few of the recipes in the past and most recipes worked really well. ...

Treats from Chinatown Newcastle
2008-02-09 01:32:26
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Treats 

Cockney Ryhming Slang
2008-02-08 20:48:03
Today one of my colleagues introduced me to Cockney Ryhming Slang(CRS). It all happened while chatting haha during work and he said something - I just looked at him with a blank expression. So he told me about CRS.. some of it I have heard before, either from telly or from daily conversation but I never knew it was known as CRS.You could read all about it here to see what I mean. The list is endless by the way, browse through it and you might even find some CRS that you have been using for ages without realising it. ...

They tried to make her go to Rehab
2008-02-08 19:58:49
Pic courtesy of Yahoo Imagesand she said NO NO NO.... ...
Rehab 

Top headlines this week so far
2008-02-05 22:12:58
Due to bad weather and a freak wave a ferry list just of the coast of Cleveleys (that is near Blackpool) . A mishap that has become a current tourist attraction and a major news headline especially in the North West region.A baby has survived today even after being thrown out of a third floor window of a burning flat in Lud-vigs-harven in Germany. This is a desperate attempt made by the baby's father. Both parents are reported to have survived as well but unfortunately the fire has caused 9 deaths. The cause of fire is still under investigation. Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash where 23 people died which included 8 Manchester United players.An inquest over the death of Myra Cabrera , who was given a drip for an epidural instead of a saline drip. She died immediately after giving birth to her son back in 2004. Adding irony, she was working as a nurse at the same hospital that took her life. The baby survived.Spanish fans booed at Lewis Hamilton and dresse ...

Sat Nav
2008-02-05 19:02:53
Recently we bought a Sat Nav, boy oh boy am I glad that we did. No longer do I need to carry out the task as a 'co-pilot' when Hubby is driving. Not only will we reach our destination quicker but also row free! Hurrah! If Hubby gets bored, he has the computerised voice to keep him company. HahahaIt really is an amazing piece of gadget and this was proven last week on our second trip to Newcaslte.I don't know if there are Sat Navs back home as we never needed one therefore never bother to look for one. But I wonder how will a Sat Nav work back home , where a huge area shares the same postcode - will it work by inserting road names instead?Goodbye bulky road maps! ...

Adele - Chasing Pavements
2008-02-03 21:59:59
Just Brilliant!! Update : The official UK Singles Chart 20/01/08 . Adele is at #2!Update : The official UK Singles Chart 03/02/08 . Adele is still at #2.. yet again the throne has been robbed from her. ...

Well Done ESTRANGED!
2008-01-29 18:14:59
Don't really fancy their videoclip for this song, TV3 Juara Lagu show is much better :) Well done and keep on the good the work.For the official link click here ...

Online groceries shopping
2008-01-27 00:15:38
A few months back, I had tried online shopping i.e groceries and from then on , never looked back. it is indeed a great convenience.My fav shopping spot at the moment is Tesco just because on a normal basis this is our shopping haven. I only choose to shop online when hubby isn't around or when we don't have the time to go down to shop.Another good place I think is Sainsbury's , I have not tried it yet but as I was surfing its website I noticed that they are charging they same price for any delivery slots. Which I think is very competitive pricing method. Tesco's delivery charge ranges from £4.75 to £6.25 depending on which day and time you choose - for example weekends are more expensive than weekdays and evening slots on weekdays are more dear compared to morning slots on weekdays.I'm sure there are many other good sites for online shopping. This entirely depends on personal preferences. I like good bargains, like buy two for one deals or buy three for two deals , even better if I ...

I think I quite like being tagged
2008-01-25 12:26:12
Tagged by Ann This tag is all about what you love and hate.I love to eat: Good authentic Malaysian dishesI hate to eat: Durian, Cempedak, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Ikan Masin (to name a few, this list is endless)I love to go on: a long break to KLI hate to go on: rollercoaster ridesI love it when: I get a few hours of studying doneI hate it when: I find myself being online ,wasting time on Facebook!I love to see: emails from my family and dear friends.I hate to see: my husband's mess (i.e clothes all over the floor)I love to hear: when my husband tells me he loves meI hate to hear: my landlords' voiceTagging Melo, Jehan, Azhan, and Flora ...

Roast lime chicken with sweet potatoes
2008-01-24 18:49:15
Serves Four Ingredients4 garlic cloves, 2 finely chopped and 2 bruised but left wholeA small bunch coriander 1tbsp turmeric2in piece fresh turmeric1 roasting chicken about 1.5kg1 lime cut in half4 medium/large sweet potatoes and cut into thick wedges1.5 cups chicken stock2 tbsp soy saucesalt and ground black pepperPreheat the oven to Gas 5/375 F /190 C. Cooking time is 20 minutes per 500g.Using a food processor grind the chopped garlic, coriander, 2tbsp salt and turmeric to a paste.Place the chicken in a roasting pan and smear it with the paste. Squeeze the lime juice over and place the lime halves and garlic cloves in the cavity . Cover with foil and roast (second shelf) in the oven ( I made a mistake by not lowering the middle shelf , luckily I had realised my error within 10 minutes after I placed the chicken in the oven)Meanwhile bring a pan of water to boil and par-boil the sweet potatoes for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain well and place them around the chicken in the roastin ...

Chilli Crabs
2008-01-24 18:32:19
Serves FourIngredients2 cooked crabs6 tbsp sunflower oil1 in piece fresh root ginger2-3 garlic cloves crushed1-2 red chillies, seeded and pounded to a paste2 tbsp tomato ketchup2 tbsp brown sugar1 tbsp light soy sauce2.5 cups boiling waterCooked crabs are available from supermarkets and fish stores. they will gladly break the crabs for you. Do not forget to discard the stomach sac and grey spongy lungs before cooking.Pick out the white meat from the large shells and claws into a bowl.Heat the oil in a wok and gently fry the ginger, garlic and fresh chilli paste for 1-2 minutes without browning. Stir in the ketchup , sugar and soy sauce, with salt to taste and heat gently.Stir in the crab meat together with the remaining crab legs, Pour in the boiling water, stir well and cook over a high heat until heated through.Serve while hot. ...

Newcastle
2008-01-19 01:04:05
Here we come, oh how exciting! I'm hoping that everything goes well tomorrow. Will be meeting them at the airport . Yes we have decided to take that brave step to wake up in the early morning and drive for about 3 hours to get there by 9am! Yikes.We have decided to book a room at Premier Inn which is about 6 minutes away from the campus. I sure hope we won't get lost tomorrow. As we do not have a Tom Tom or any form of navigator , we are quite reliant on websites such as RAC or AA , the former being our number one choice. I have printed three route planners for this trip :Home to AirportAirport to CampusCampus to HotelWish us luck !!! ...

Latest News
2008-01-17 23:37:14
Air-liner crash lands at Heathrow. ...
News 

Stay one night and get one night FREE
2008-01-12 17:36:31
Very catchy advertisement that I saw in today's paper. Since we are still searching for accommodation in Newcastle for next week , we surfed its website , prices seems alright and the hotel itself looks really quaint.Unfortunately this establishment has no properties (yet) in the Northumberland county. However for those who have tried one of the Old English Inns , please let me know how you got on. :) ...
One Night 

Room Bookings
2008-01-12 12:38:08
In the near future we might be travelling to Newcastle often as a friend of the ours will be furthering his PhD. He is coming along with his whole family and the plan for next week is for us to visit him at Newcastle upon his arrival.We do understand that accommodation will not be available for us and that is totally understandable and fine by us. As he needs to get, not only himself settled in but also his family. For him this is a totally new horizon as he has never been abroad . his wife speaking little or no English , this will be indeed a huge move and a lot of adjustment need to be made for the whole family (3 kids) in the coming next 4 years.While we are planning for this visit - we therefore are looking for cheap hotel accommodation at Laterooms. This is a good site where you can search the best available price and room. Usually for us, after having found the right hotel and price, we will book it through the hotel's main website. Only a little precaution , as I had experience ...
Room 

Liverpool 08
2008-01-12 00:41:28
Today is the launching of Liverpool 08, European Capital of Culture. It has started officially at 2008 hours today (very apt the way the organisers picked the (time)start of the ceremony). We have been to Liverpool in Nov 2006 (gosh has it been that long ago?) during that time Liverpool city was drown with construction sites. Anywhere we looked we could see scaffolding's and cranes , a bit of an eyesore. Traffic was horrendous as well. It was indeed a good thing that we decided to stay at a B&B 1.5 miles away from the City Centre. We travelled into the city either by cab or bus.Now Liverpool city has totally been transformed and simply looks amazing on telly. Liverpool 08 will boast a whole year cultural events. This will not only boost the tourism sector or the standard of living but also shed the negativity of Scousers. Plus this will also place Liverpool in the map for not only known as the place where The Beatles originated or for Liverpool FC but as a City that is rich i ...
Liverpool 

Galangal
2008-01-12 00:27:31
Pic courtesy of Yahoo search engineGalangal or Lengkuas is a rhizome and often used in Malay dishes (presumably due to Thai cuisine influence). Living abroad , I find it quite difficult to get fresh galangal but with the boom of the Asian cuisine , it is now available not only at China Town groceries stores but also at the local markets. Personally I prefer using fresh galangal when cooking as we all know the fresher the ingredients are, the better the taste of your dish will be.To keep galangal for a longer period, wrap it in greaseproof paper(to maintain its moisture) and keep it in the fridge. Some supermarkets also sell galangal paste in small jars or dried galangal. If you are planning to use dried galangal in your cooking, allow it to soak beforehand for a good half an hour in water.For that extra tang in your cooking , galangal is indeed a must. As it gives your dishes that extra earthy aroma and citrus taste. Dishes that uses galangal is usually accompanied by lemon grass (whi ...