Picasso @ Abu Dhabi

We went to the Picasso Exhibition @ Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. It’s awesome!! I knew HIM but not very familiar with his painting. Frankly, I preferred Van Gogh… At least I understand the SUN FLOWER..

http://www.artsabudhabi.com/picasso_default.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso

Trips to Dubai

Me @ The Green Community



The Tallest Building - Burj Arab Tower (under construction)


Burj Al Arab Hotel @ Jumeirah


Sunset @ Dubai

I have traveled to Dubai a few times since I was here, for business purpose. It takes 1.5 hour from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. I do not have a license yet so normally I would rent a car with driver. And of course, Dubai changed a lot compare to 4 years ago! And it is still developing… We went to Dubai weeks ago. We visited the Green Community, a project that I worked 4 years ago…

Summer – Picnic

The new cornice in Abu Dhabi was opened on 1st July 08. Ray’s colleague suggested going picnic at a public beach near the new cornice. Hooooooooray…. I was so happy and excited about the picnic. I couldn’t remember when the last time picnic near the seaside was!! It probably is when I was very small. I think I need my sis’s help to recall the memory.
We wake up around 530a.m (its super early for me!!) and we reached there around 6a.m. We though we are the earliest but surprisingly there were a lot of people when we reached. We get a seat, eat and start play. The beach is nice with beautiful sands and sea water..
It reminds me my beloved housemates and ME buddies in JB – the Desaru trips..

MY BIRTHDAY 12072008

Today is my birthday.
Wow, I can’t believe that I am 28th year old to-date! 
Mommy has wished me a happy be-earlier birthday 2 days ago when I chat with her in MSN / Skype. Not to forget my beloved sister - NOI left me a message in the facebook. Thanks for the birthday greetings from cousins, nephew, niece and my beloved friends via skype, msn, emails and sms!! I have got a special and nice Vietnamese birthday song from Andy and staff @ Saigon… haha… its really loooong and nice although I only recognize the ‘happy birthday’ in the chorus part!!

Last but not least, I would say a thousand thanks to Ray. Thanks for his so called MY BIRTHDAY PRESENT – PSP, although he is the one who play the EA Sport most of the time!! We have a nice pre-birthday dinner @ SOBA restaurant, Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/dining/index.html?propertyID=1900
Nice sashimi, too bad no sake was serving in that restaurant…
Thanks for Ray’s nice cakes from Costa Café. I knew its damn hot for him to walk to the café.

I was thinking where am I and what am I doing on my birthday years ago.
2004 – Celebrating with Ray’s best friend (same birth date, but 4 year elder) in the Place, Penang
2005 – Celebrating with gfs in Sport Club café, Mid Valley, KL
2006 – Lonely birthday, I remembered I was having Champagne in the Holiday Inn, Strongsville, Cleveland, OH.
2007 – Celebrating with Ray in Bali
2008 – Celebrating in Abu Dhabi

Its 1140pm local time, Ray and I just got back from Sheraton Khalidiya. We had great dinner in the 3rd Avenue, it’s a pub restaurant. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/dining/index.html?propertyID=1322
This restaurant serves good food, and of course Ray has ordered me my favorite Corona! Ray’s colleague met us up around 10pm and we left around 1115pm. We have some beers some chicken wings and chit chat. We have a good time.
The waiter told me that we can have 50% off for the alcohol beverages during the happy hour time (4pm – 7pm) except Friday while ladies entitle to get 2 free drinks on Friday – Ladies night… gonna drag Ray out on Friday once… :P

Well, getting older and older, but same quote for me, LIFE IS SHORT, WORK HARD, PLAY HARD, ENJOY LIFE!! May God bless me.

Happy birthday to you, babe.. and Have a good night! 1157pm local time

芝士忌廉龙虾 Lobster in cream and cheese

Bought a lobster in Al Meena Fish market, Abu Dhabi. Cook the Cheese Lobster. and Ray said it is nice! :)

Ingredient
- Lobster small (½ kg) 1 no
- Onion 1 no sliced
- Garlic 4 cloves chopped
- whipped cream ¾ cup
- Olive oil 4 table spoon
- Corn Flour
- Cheese 5 slices
- Sugar ½ teaspoon
- Salt ¼ teaspoon









Step 1 : Clean the lobster and cut the lobster symmetry from head to tail, do not break the shell
Step 2 : Apply the corn flour on the lobster and fried with heated oil (do not deep fried, so half cup of oil will do) until the lobster turns to red
Step 3 : Heat up the olive oil and add in the garlic and onion until it become yellowish
Step 4 : Add in the whipped cream until it boil
Step 5 : Put in the lobster and lay the cheese on the top
Step 6 : Boil it and simmer until the sauce become thicker
Step 7 : Add in sugar and salt
Ready !

Rempah fish

Ingredient A
- Big Yellow tail - 2 pieces
Ingredient B
- Chili powder 2 table spoon
- Dry Chilies 5 pieces
- Onion 2 nos
- Ginger 1 small piece
- Garlic 1 glove
- Sugar 1 tea spoon
- Asam Jawa – 2 table spoon in ¼ cup water, remove the seed if possible
Step 1 : Mix and blend ingredient B to 80% crash
Step 2 : Prepare the sambal : fried ingredient B in heated oil
Step 3 : Cut the fish vertically at both side to insert the sambal
Step 4 : Insert the sambal in the fish’s stomach (where we cleaned the internal)
Step 5 : marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge
Step 6 : Deep fry the fish in heated oil –
Step 7 : Reduce the heat until the fish is done
Ready !

p/s : if you are afraid of the super heat oil, add in ½ tea spoon corn flour in the heated oil before fry the fish! Ray taught me this and it works!!

vinegar + Olive oil

Ray and I love Italian food. We visited to Italian restaurant quite often. And we have been to the Biella Caffe Pizzeria Ristorante in Marina Mall http://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/restaurants/review.php?id=261 and Prego Restaurant in Rotana Beach Hotel Abu Dhabi http://www.rotana.com/hoteldiningdesc-4-5-4-20.htm within this 2 months. Every time we go to Italian restaurant, we will have the bread to go with vinegar and olive oil. And I just love it!

Ray knew I love sour taste and we have bought some nice vinegar in Oil and Vinegar @ Al Wahda Mall http://www.alwahda-mall.com/en/stores/specialty-stores/oil-vinegar.html . It is a nice place to shop for the spices, olive oil and vinegar. I never know that the vinegar can be so expensive… the sales lady showed me a 20 years vinegar in 250ml which cost about AED2000! Of course it is similar to the wine which very much depending on the type of grape, the age etc. and Vinegar is good as it is an enzyme. We have bought some not so expensive vinegar…

姜片鸡Ginger Chicken vs 姜葱鸡Ginger Onion Chicken

Ingredient
- Boneless chicken tights 4 pieces
- Ginger big size 1 no
- Corn flour ½ table spoon
- Oyster sauce 2 table spoon
- Sugar ½ table spoon
- Sesame oil 2 table spoon
- Soy Sauce thick 3 table spoon
- Soy Sauce 1 table spoon
- Rice wine 1 table spoon (I use Chivas  )
- pepper powder

Step 1 : Cut Chicken tights smaller piece and cut half ginger to slices and blend half ginger until crash
Step 2 : Marinate Chicken with corn flour, sesame oil, wine and crashed ginger for at least 30 minute
Step 3 : Fried ginger until its 80% done (light yellowish)
Step 4 : Put in the chicken
Step 5 : add in oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, pepper powder and thick soy sauce
Step 6 : add the soy sauce when its ready to serve
Ready !



Ingredient
- Boneless chicken tights 4 pieces
- Ginger roots
- Ginger medium size 1 no
- Onion 1 no
- cooking oil 2 table spoon
- Corn flour 1 table spoon
- Oyster sauce 2 table spoon
- Sugar ½ table spoon
- Sesame oil ½ table spoon
- Rice wine 1 table spoon (I use Chivas  )
- Black pepper powder

Step 1 : Cut Chicken tights smaller piece and cut ginger and onion into slices
Step 2 : Marinate Chicken with corn flour and oil for at least 30 minute
Step 3 : Fried Onion and ginger until its 80% done (light yellowish)
Step 4 : Put in the chicken
Step 5 : add in oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, wine
Step 6 : add the Ginger root and add the black pepper powder when its ready to serve
Ready !

Ray’s American Breakfast

Its really lazy to wake up early morning to cook breakfast, even for myself; normally I preferred to prepare some simple breakfast the day before e.g. Tuna sandwich, Sardine sandwich, egg mayo sandwich etc. One day, I tried to be a good partner to prepare Ray a nice breakfast. Hehe.. Sausages, egg and bacon! 1st time I cook the egg successfully without bocor!

芋头饭Oh Bui

Ingredient
- Pork - belly 10 slices
- Mushroom – 10 nos
- Garlic 10 cloves chopped
- Taro – 25 slices (cubic ½ inch x ½ inch)
- Oyster sauce 4 table spoon
- Thick soy sauce 2 table spoon
- Soy sauce 1 table spoon
- Sesame oil 1 table spoon
- Black pepper powder
- Rice 1 cup
- Water 1 cup + 2 cup



Step 1 : Fried the garlic in heated oil until yellowish, put half aside
Step 2 : Fried the pork, taro and mushroom
Step 3 : put in the rice and add in oyster sauce, thick coy sauce, sesame oil
Step 4 : add in water and simmer until it boil
Step 5 : stir, add soy sauce and pepper
Step 6 : transfer to the rice cooker, add in 2 cup water (1/2 inch above the rice) until it cooked
Step 7 : serve with the fried garlic, more tasty
Ready !

p/s: it will be more tasty to add dried shrimp (udang kering) or dried oyster!

Herb Soup - Tong Gui 当归

I love soup, especially herb soup.
Over here, the easiest soup to make is ABC soup. I have cooked a few times because my housemates’ kids love it. And myself I preferred Chinese Herb Soup, 当归TONG GUI soup is one of my favorite!

Ingredient
- Chicken bone 5 pieces (I don’t like to eat the meat, so I would preferred to cook with the bone)
- 2 boiled eggs
- Red dates 20 nos
- Tong Gui 10 slices

Step 1 : Boil 2 bowls of water
Step 2 : put in the Chicken or chicken bone, Tong Gui and red dates until it boil
Step 3 : put in the 2 boiled eggs
Step 4 : simmer for 30 minutes
Step 5 : add ½ teaspoon of salt if you want!
Ready !

Fish Fillet Porridge 鱼柳粥

We had porridge for dinner around 7pm. We went out for grocery and I was hungry when it was 1030pm. Ray cook me fish fillet porridge. Erm.. Nice! But tooooo many ginger so a bit hot!

Mushroom Soup

This is one of my favorite and it’s the easiest one! I don’t have this western soup quite often but it’s nice to go with salad.

Salad 3

Ingredient
- Sausage
- Crabstick
- Green pepper
- Tomato cherry
- Asparagus
- Cucumber
- Lettuce
- Dressing : olive oil and vinegar

Salad - 2

Ingredient
- Potato
- Carrot
- Green pepper
- Tomato cherry
- Lettuce
- Asparagus
- Cucumber
- Dressing : mayonnaise, olive oil and vinegar

p/s : I have mix the potato with 1 table spoon mayonnaise when the potato is cooked in the boiled water, it will make the salad taste sweeter.

Salad - 1

Ingredient
- Potato
- Carrot
- Green pepper
- Tomato
- Baby corn
- Crab stick
- Bacon
- Dressing : olive oil, vinegar and pepper

Asam Prawn 亚参虾

Ingredient
- Prawn medium 10 nos
- Thick black soy sauce 5 table spoon + 2 table spoon
- Black soy sauce 2 table spoon
- Asam Jawa 2 table spoon in ½ bowl water
- Oyster sauce 1 table spoon
- Sugar 2 table spoon + 1 table spoon

Step 1 : Clean the prawn, do not remove the shell
Step 2 : marinate the prawn with asam jawa in water, thick black soy sauce and sugar for at least 3 hours, keep in the fridge
Step 3 : fried the prawn + marinated sauce in ½ cup of oil in heated oil until the sauce become thicker and dryer
Step 4 : add in soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar
Step 5 : add more sugar and soy sauce to suit your taste
Ready !











My asam prawn VS Hai Xiang Restaurant asam prawn (located beside QEII and ferry station, Penang)... need a lot of improvement in presentation...

咕噜肉Gu Lou Meat ( 甜酸Sweet and Sour)

Ingredient A
- Boneless chicken tights 4 pieces
- Sesame oil 1 table spoon
- Salt ½ tea spoon
- Corn flour 1 table spoon
- Mix flour - Corn flour : Rice flour or crispy flour (3:1)
Ingredient B
- Ketchup 4 table spoon in ¼ cup water
- Sugar 1-½ table spoon
- Monte Canned Pineapple 1 tin – cut in slices and keep the juice ½ cup
- Green pepper 1 no (mix Red, Yellow and Green so it looks better)
- Cucumber 1 no cut to small pieces
- Carrot ½ no
- Tomato 2 nos cut to small pieces
- Onion 1 no cut to small pieces
- Garlic 5 cloves chopped

Step 1 : Chop the Chicken tights to make it soften and cut in to smaller piece
Step 2 : Marinate Chicken with sesame oil, salt and corn flour for at least 30 minute
Step 3 : Cover the chicken with mix flour and deep fry in heated oil until it turns to yellowish
Step 4 : Fried the garlic in heated oil
Step 5 : Add in ketchup in water, sugar and pineapple juice
Step 6 : Add in all the vegetables until it boil
Step 7 : Put in the chicken, stir and simmer for 3 minute
Ready !

Prawn Hakka Mee

Too bored to have rice everyday and I found the hakka mee in the cupboard that we bought from CHOITHRAMS Abu Dhabi which selling a lot of asian grocery. I miss Wat Tan Hor so much and it drives me to cook the prawn Hakka Mee.

Ingredient
- Hakka Mee 1 pack – for 2 person
- Prawn medium 6 nos
- Slices of pork – belly
- Lettuce
- Carrot
- Garlic 6 cloves chopped
- Egg 1 no
- Osyter sauce 4 table spoon
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Soy sauce 2 teaspoon
- Sesame oil 1 teaspoon
- Corn flour ½ teaspoon

Step 1 : Cook the hakka mee in boiled water until its done, dry it
Step 2 : Fried the garlic in heated oil and add in the pork slices when the garlic turns to yellowish
Step 3 : Add in the oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and 1-½ cup water
Step 4 : Put in lettuce and carrot until it is boil
Step 5 : add in corn flour to make the sauce thicker
Step 6 : add in the egg and stir
Step 7 : put in the prawn and hakka mee, stir and boil until the prawns turn to red
Ready !

Honey Chicken 蜜糖鸡

Ingredient
- Boneless chicken tights 4 pieces
- Corn flour 1 table spoon
- Honey 3 table spoon + 2 table spoon
- Sugar ½ table spoon
- Sesame oil 1 table spoon
- Almond nut 10 nos

Step 1 : Cut Chicken tights smaller piece
Step 2 : Marinate Chicken with corn flour, honey, sugar, sesame oil for at least 30 minute
Step 3 : 1 table spoon cooking oil to fried the chicken in pan
Step 4 : Blend the almond nut until crashed
Step 5 : add more honey when the chicken is 90% done
Step 6 : Mix bean can be used as side dish of the honey chicken, pour the crashed almond on the chicken.
Ready !

咖喱鸡Chicken Curry

Ingredient A
- chicken tights 4 pieces
- Potato 2 nos
- Curry leave 6 pieces
- Coconut powder 4 table spoon in 1 cup of water
Ingredient B
- Curry chicken powder 2 table spoon
- Plain Curry powder 1 table spoon (to make it more spicy)
- Onion 2 nos
- Ginger 1 small piece
- Garlic 1 glove
- Sugar 1 tea spoon

Step 1 : Cut Chicken tights and potato to smaller piece
Step 2 : Boil or Fried the potato until it soft
Step 3 : Mix ingredient B and blend it to 80% crashed.

Step 4 : Pour half cup of cooking oil and heat it. Fried ingredient B for 5 minute

Step 5 : Put in the chicken and potato

Step 6 : Put in the coconut powder until it boil


Ready !




p/s: we eat curry mee hoon and roti canai  Its the 1st time i cook curry chicken without any help, and i think its YuMmy!

美女厨房之美女私房菜 Recipe recipe recipe

I don’t do cooking everyday until I was here especially my housemate and wife was back to KL recently. I love to cook at my puchong home sweet home as well; but it really depending on my mood. Why? Because grandma can cook very good… think about her cooking here…  regret.. I should have learn her recipe when I was home. Not forget my mom. She can cook pretty good for her Hokkien Chinese New year dishes, but she will simply use something to replace when she couldn’t find the ingredients in the recipe.. e.g. she used Curry Fish powder to cook curry chicken when she left the curry chicken powder in the pasar… 
Of course, Ray is always the best CHEF for me wherever we are. He knew a lot of things in cooking. He is always my walking recipe book :P

Well, he is busy with his project and always home late, so me as the assistant chef, take the responsibility to prepare the dinner. Practices make things perfect. It is true, I don’t dare to say I can cook well but I m IMPROVING! Hahahaaa..

Well, I would like to share some of my 作品 in my blog… see ya.

Going Public in Malaysia

It’s 1240am, I am still awake at this time to accompany Ray working on his new tender, reviewing pricing and quotations. Online, wanted to talk to my sisters in the States but Noi told me that they were out for church in the morning and going to museum in the afternoon.. haha.. museum!!! I remembered the last museum that I visited is in Indianapolis in year 2006 and I think the last visit to KL museum was year 1996 (form 4). Don’t know whether they are going to the same museum today? Well, museum, I saw a Petroleum Museum in the Abu Dhabi mini directory, maybe I should have visit it one day.
Sign on my MSN, nobody online, oppss.. its 445am Malaysia time….
Looking at www.livescore.com, Ray’s favorite team, Spain had a draw game with Italy. Too bad for him. Hehe.. why he like Spain? Because the favorite Liverpool player Fernando Torres is in the team!
Boring.. boring..
Reading the star online this morning, a lot of Malaysian especially in KL and Penang are going to public transport due to the Gas price raised 40% about 1 week ago. Kuala Lumpur City Hall recorded a drop of almost 12,000 cars entering the city daily a week after the fuel price hike; Queues at LRT stations are getting longer and car parks are bursting at the seams; A bus company in Putrajaya has recorded a 10% increase in the number of passengers; Daily traffic volume on the Penang Bridge has dropped by 7% from the previous daily volume of 67,000 vehicles; Sales of motorcycles have increased by up to 25%. Demand is higher than supply now, good for Boon Siew family!
Well, I would love to take a LRT to KL downtown once awhile, but not everyday, especially when I was alone. I have think about this seriously 2 years ago when I had some offers for new job. At last, I have choose my current job which located in PJ rather than the job in KL; the main reason is I need to park my car in LRT station PJ and travel to downtown by LRT! It is always good for public to use the public transport provided there are enough spaces and parking lot in LRT station or bus station. 2nd, the safety issue, either the car steal or the snatch thief problems. Otherwise, at the end of the day, it will make the public to give up the public transport!
I think I would get Ray to buy me a pink Scooter when we back in KL…

Two New-ish in Abu Dhabi…

I was here in Dubai 4-5 years ago when I was working with the Consultant Engineering Company, worked as a project engineer in construction site. We were building the District Cooling Plant in The Green Community, Jebel Ali, Dubai. That’s the place I met my hubby – Raymond. We started to see and date each other since I met him; no matter he was in Dubai, Penang, KL or Chiang Mai. We have been dating for 4-5 years? (I don’t really remember when it’s the Official Date we dated!)

Dubai, Abu Dhabi or I should say U.A.E (The Emirates), or maybe the Middle East Countries are developing. They are building more and more nice Architect work piece although the inflation rate is getting higher and higher globally. And of course, there are tones of project and construction going on in this region! They are rich, in the other word.

End of year 2007, Ray has proposed to me. We can actually either sign the paper before or after the wedding ceremony. But we decided to get the marriage license at the same time we are planning for the wedding ceremony. The ceremony is planned to be held in year 2009. There are several reasons to put the ceremony in 2009. One of them is all my siblings are abroad, I have to plan and giving them a 1 year notice. Haha.. Ray and I have never though that we will be back to the Emirates until Ray has got a new assignment in Abu Dhabi; while my company has approached me a job in the Middle East. So, we are here now in Abu Dhabi.

Well, I have been here for a while, one and a half month. Everything is finally settled down in this strange city. Ray and I stayed with a colleague’s family. A couple and 3 kids (age 8 months, 3 year old and 5 year old). Oh man, 1 baby and 2 toddles! We shared a living hall, a kitchen and a bath room. Eventually, it is not so hard for me to handle the kids (the kids love me), but it is not easy to get used to the crying, noisiness. The only good thing is I have accompanies when Ray is out for work. (I am SOHO, so I spend most of time in front of pc at home)



The first thing to do in this strange city is to get a Visitors Guide, to know about this country, the history, the culture, the emergency contact number and to know where to go, where to shop, where to EAT! Ray has bought me the Abu Dhabi Min published by the Explorer. www.explorepublishing.com it is handy and useful.

It takes awhile for me to get connected to the internet service. Rules here are strict. Or I can say me as a foreigner in this country not easy to apply for the permanent landline services. It required all the documentation e.g. Residence permit, labor card etc. And I was so depressed for a few days when I did not connected to the internet. Am I Internet-ic? Haha.. but, finally, I bought the mobile USB device. Though is a bit expensive, but it’s easier, and I can online wherever whenever as long as there is Etisalat network. :)





Abu Dhabi is a young and modern city, with its own unique contrasts. It is clean and blessed with a surrounding marvelous cornice. I stayed in down town city centre, so, its just take 15 minutes to walk to the cornice. The cornice is a nice place to walk and jog in the evening. There are a few Theme parks with different concept and layout near by the cornice. The grasses grew well in this desert place. There is well designed sprinkles system for the plants.


The city is not big though, but it will be getting bigger and bigger. They are developing dramatically. They are building up a few islands in this state. From an empty island to a well city planned island! And these projects are going on for more than 10 years. Ray and I have visited most of the biggest mall in Abu Dhabi. We spent most of time in window shopping, eating, cappuccino-ing and spending time in bookstore (Ray is a big Liverpool soccer fans, so he loves to look at the soccer magazines). The best thing I found in the Virgin bookstore is The Entertainer Abu Dhabi. It is a coupon booklet that offers the Buy 1 Free 1 concept. www.theentertainerme.com It’s really worth it!!!
p/s: i am writing this in English so that Ray can read it.. :)