Leaving colleagues...

Update 6.15pm 28/3/08:

And so it ends...

Original:

Today marks the last day of 3 colleagues.

First: the eternal joker BR who has entertained the lot of us and provided us with his wonderful jokes and stories. He leaves for Africa.

Second: the dedicated HM who is patient and diligent in her work, and never fail to liven up our spirits. She leaves for Singapore.

Third: the highly skilled programmer AP who is really precious because of his database and programming skills. He leaves for Latin America.

Wish all of you the best. Don't forget us!

A summary of the foodies I had in Penang

Asam Laksa
This is a hot, sweet and sour food that should not be eaten if you want to sleep after your meal. Powerful pungent tamarind based soup, large chunks of fish, generous servings of onions, pineapples, mint leaves, red chilies and of course chili padi! Sourced from the local Jelutong Market.

Hokkien Mee
This is a noodle dish with a shrimp based soup. Hot and sweet, it comprises of small shrimps, pork meat, taugeh, hard boiled eggs, and fried onions for that extra zing. Sourced from the stall downstairs.

Cha Hor Fun
Something like Wat Tan Hor, but not so eggy. It's sweeter and more easily eaten compared to Wat Tan Hor. Eaten with the sambal, it's heaven!

Cha Kuey Kak
This is Cha Kuey Teow but without the Kuey Teow. Instead, radish cakes are used. A smattering of garlic and Chai Poh is added to the oily mix. The owner is an old man, and his helper was probably his wife. They operate a small cart in front of the coffee shop fronting the main road, and his customers never seem to wane. A small packet is less than RM2. Where to find this? This was bought from the coffee shop just nearby.

Jawa Mee
The soup is a potato based concoction. Into this is added taugeh, hard boiled egg, vegetables, some Indian kueh, crispy "Heh Chih" and a generous dollop of sambal. Mmm. This is comparable to the Mee Rebus, but is really a different recipe. And best of all, this was home cooked!

Apom Telur
Sweet and fragrant pancake, typically made by the ethnic Indians. Normally sells for very cheap too. Something like 6 pieces for RM2 if I'm not mistaken. This was eaten in the car on the way back home to Subang.

Ban Chien Kuey
Comfort food, it's also a pancake but it's peanut based and thicker than the Apom Telur. Had this for breakfast. Sticky and nice, but would be better if it was eaten while it was hot.

Ais Kacang
Sinfully sweet cold dessert. Comprises of shaved ice and topped with corn, red beans, various jellies, and a flood of brown syrup. Strangely, the red syrup was missing. Anyhow, this dessert is a perfect companion to any hot and spicy food eaten in Penang. This was sourced from the Batu Lanchang Market.

Su Ko Teng (?)
I've never tried this before. It basically looks something like Leng Chee Kang, but the ingredients used are different. There's the assortment of jellies, atap chee, longan and white fungus. This was bought from the pasar malam just in front.

Taiwan Sausage
No need further elaboration. Same as what you can find here in Subang. Also bought from the pasar malam.

Siew Mai
These siew mai were huge! 3 pieces for RM1, but they are more like the size of giant fish balls. Definitely delicious, but would have been better if it was really hot and steaming. Also sourced from the pasar malam.


YUMMMM!!!!!!

Earth Hour

Our company is practicing Earth Hour. What this basically means is that all non-essential electrical and water supplies will be switched off from 4pm to 5pm local time in order to conserve energy and reduce pollution.

How far can this initiative go? Let's wait for what the official reports will say!

The Mist

Watched Stephen King's The Mist yesterday. I've read the story before in the compilation Skeleton Crew. After watching the movie, decided that it is quite a faithful representation of what I had pictured when I'd read it. But there's a difference in the ending. While the book ends with uncertainty that the mist will continue to stay and the narrator is slowly going insane, in the movie the hero actually must face the consequences of his actions, as the mist slowly clears away after he had performed euthanasia on his compatriots and 5 year old son.

Fantastic creature and set design, and genuinely terrifying moments of horror make this movie a worthy visit to the supernatural and an examination of humanity at its worst.

Highly recommended!

Hell's Kitchen

What a fantastic finish to Season 2 of Hell's Kitchen! It was a showdown between the gritty and gutsy Heather and the fantastic palate of Virginia. In the end, Heather's effective Kitchen management won her the executive chef position in the Red Rock resort.

Now, let's wait for Season 3 to air :)

Ah Long Pte Ltd

It's a laugh out loud local comedy that features the delicious Fann Wong ;)

While it starts out really nicely with all the jokes and gags, in the end it turned out to be an overdone social commentary on the dangers of Ah Long's.

Not bad, but not great either...

Terengganu Crisis

It's been 2 weeks since the 12th General Elections was completed. All the states have appointed their state leaders, with the exception of Terengganu. See, our prime minister who's also UMNO president has submitted one name, but the Terengganu palace has rejected the PM's choice and instead wishes to appoint someone else, who does not have the support from UMNO.

So now it's boiling into a confrontation between the PM and the Terengganu Sultan, who so happens to be our DYMM Agong!

While the Menteri Besar post should be selected on the basis of the person who commands the majority support of the state assembly, the Agong has the discretion to appoint anyone he deems fit to be PM. This is very very interesting. Let's see how it plays out.

Clarification

1) We were supposed to buy the house but due to "no floor plan" cannot buy.
2) Found out another house was being bought but also "no floor plan". Didn't understand why.
3) Clarified that the "floor plan" is actually the "land plan" not the "house layout plan". That's why our house cannot buy but the other one can.

These people got nothing better to do is it?

This from NST:



Seriously, these guys need to get a life. Someone must have paid them to do this. Satu lagi projek kerajaan BN.

Our PM's quotable quote

There's this one quotable quote as taken from theSun today in Page 2.



My response: Yes, you have to explain it. You are an employee of the government, in other words your salary is paid by our taxpayers money. Therefore, we are your boss. You have the obligation to explain your actions to your boss! Don't forget, you are not a "government servant"; rather, you are a "civil servant". Your allegiance is to the People, not to your cabinet!