Getting into the Christmas spirit

I've always celebrated Christmas in the summer where Kiwis tend to take it reeeeeal easy with the festivities unless you count the frantic shopping at the malls. Most of the time you'll have to remind yourself it's almost Christmas by checking the calendar because the decorations are pffffft and carols are non existent. You just get the regular pop songs over the speakers and radio. So imagine my delight when I see Christmas is celebrated with such gusto here that one can't help but get drawn into it.

I'm ashamed to say that I took the easy way out by getting an artificial tree. I mean, you just scrunch the branches back into a pole like thing and store away till the next year. I've never had a wreath nor Christmas stocking. How sad is that!  So Lil L and I went out shopping at our local Christmas market. We came home with a proper wreath (it's the Catholic guilt so we stuck to a real living wreath) and an angel tree topper. I'm still searching for a small sized stocking, not one of those that's taller than Lil L which you could literally fit a dog in it. I'm not talking about those yappity yap Chihuahuas either.



Let's not forget those who died fighting for our country and remember those in need.

Don't mind me. I'm a regular nosy parker. I'd love to know how you decorate your place. How's your Christmas preparation so far?

Lantern Procession

There are so many events in town in the weeks leading up to Christmas. To be honest with you, it made me feel like a kid again. Everywhere I turn, there's the beautiful Christmas lights all over the town centre, Christmas carols on the street and now the Christmas market with an ice skating rink attached. There's a palpable sense of excitement here which makes Christmas feel so magical.


Every year the lantern procession leads the way for the opening of the Christmas market.

Rather than surrender to the commercialism of Christmas which is not what this day is all about, I thought I'll concentrate more about the Christmas spirit this year. Our kids do not need dozens of presents that can barely fit on their full-to-bursting shelves. Perhaps a small handful in total should suffice.  Instead, it'll be great to give to those in need and show a bit of kindness. Buy a bag of much needed  grocery for a family or offering a cup of hot coffee and a blanket to a homeless person. I'd love to hear your suggestions. What do you think? What will you do differently this year?

Images of New Zealand

To my readers in the US, I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Continuing with my decade old photos, I thought it'd be neat to take you on an armchair tour of New Zealand. It feels slightly nostalgic seeing these pictures again, some of them were taken in the days of slides and negatives. Furthermore, I saw a few that I took of Christchurch, forever frozen in time when the reality is so different these days after the massive damage caused by the deadly earthquake recently.

We often joke that Christchurch, NZ is more English than the English. I guess it's the case where the immigrants desperately wanting to hold on to traditions even though most of these customs are no longer practised in their country of origin. The Avon river meanders through the city centre Avon and is a tourist attraction in its own right. The punters can be seen ferrying tourists back and forth in the summer. Here's a bit of historical facts for you. The Avon is derived from the Welsh word, afon which in fact, means river.





The NZ landscape is diverse. One minute you could be in a glacier and the next, a dessert. We were on a long drive back to Auckland from Palmerston North when we caught sight of the angry clouds above snowy peaks.

Christchurch is famous for its parks and gardens. The best time to see all the flowers in full bloom would be springtime. The grounds are filled with a carpet daffodils and bluebells.




The Catlins, a region in the South Island filled with unspoilt and rustic landscape where one can explore the waterfalls, forests, lakes, rivers and caves. This is the Purakaunui Falls which has a nice and easily walkable track.





Lake Mapourika lies to the north of Franz Josef, a glacier located near Mt Cook. It's usually very quiet and serene here at the lake. Few visitors ever stop by to take a look.



This is the house where approximately 500 Maori chiefs and representatives of the British sovereignty signed the controversial Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 which is still in dispute to this day. The Waitangi house is located in the Bay of Islands, North Island.


Well, I hope you've all enjoyed a quick tour of New Zealand!

Images of Asia

You probably notice by now that I ping pong between various diverse topics but never settling on one. I hope you guys don't mind me doing this. I have trouble talking about fashion all day long because even I get bored of the never ending fashion trends.

I love food but I have to draw a line somewhere or else I'll end up looking like a porker. My aunts and grandmother who live in Borneo never fail to make a comment about my weight gain whenever I visit them. I'm no longer 17 and my metabolic rate ain't what it used to be so of course, I'm chubbier. I've found out that reverse psychology works beautifully here. "Auntie! So nice to see you. I know I'm so FAT these days". Immediately, I get the   "Aiyah, no-laaah. You look fine. Too skinny no good. Makes you look old". 

Traveling is a passion of mine. I must be getting on in age because I miss my own bed if I'm away for more than 2 weeks. I was digging around in an external hard drive when I found these old photos. Some of them would've been more than 16 years old. Looking at these images brought back fond memories of my crazy adventures. If Lil L attempts to do the same when she's older, I'm going to chain her to her bed until she's 30. Okay, maybe 40.

Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Sepilok. 1999

I was determined to visit the Orang-utan Rehabilitation centre at Sepilok, Sabah (North Borneo). I nearly peed in my pants when an entire troupe of massive Macaques got really aggressive towards visitors. One of the staff had to run off to get a gun. Apparently, one attacked a staff the week before and injured him badly. The macaques also bully the gentle orang-utans by pushing them around and stealing their food.

Tambunan, Sabah 1999

The staff at a local hotel couldn't understand why I wanted to visit a small laid-back town in Sabah. I was obsessed with taking photos of paddy fields. I grew up seeing them whenever my family went on long distance drives but the fields seemed so exotic to me now that I've lived abroad. A really nice bloke felt sorry for me and came by in his car at 5am just to make sure I got to see sunrise! Poor guy, he was barely coherent since he'd gone out with his buddies all night and hadn't slept.

Birds, Tiong Bahru 1999
I must've been the youngest person at Tiong Bahru. The average age was 50. The old gentlemen would meet at a cafe, hang their bird cages up while chatting and admiring each other's birds.

Forbidden City, China 2000
The lion guarding the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Portrait of Mao, near Forbidden City 2000
I don't know what it's like these days in Beijing but there were tons of local tourists from the villages visiting Beijing, all gawking in amazement at the sights. We got chatting to a German couple. Suddenly, there were flashes everywhere and people clamoring over hubby and I to get photographed next to the blonde couple. It was a rather surreal experience.




Forbidden City, Beijing 2000
It was pandemonium at the Forbidden City. The local tourists would clamor all over you. One nearly strangled me with his camera strap in a hurry to take a photo despite the fact that he was behind me. I had enough of the madness and ruthless crowd and decided to wander off.




Bidayuh lady at Anna Rais, Kuching, Borneo 1999
A few old classmates and I decided to check out a Bidayuh longhouse at Anna Rais, approximately an hour's drive from Kuching except that it took us far longer than that. The 3 of us have NO sense of direction whatsoever despite being locals. Sad but true. This amazing 90 year old (at the time) was still tending the fields in her advanced age.




Remnants of old Colonial times, Malacca 2008
Malacca or otherwise known as Melaka by Malaysians is an old commerce port centuries ago where important trade took place. The signs of colonialism is evident in the architecture as the town was once ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and finally, the British.

Easy Peasy Dumplings

I'm not a fan of boiled dumplings (otherwise known as shui jiao = water dumpling) but I can easily inhale a dozen guo tie (pot stickers). They're great as snacks or a main meal. My English friends would gobble these down and often request pot stickers if they were coming around for a meal. I love biting into the crispy base and slurping a bowl of chicken broth with watercress. They look complicated but in reality, are so easy make.

Dumplings have been part of the Chinese cuisine for more than 500 years. They were predominantly eaten on Chinese New Year Eve by the Northern Chinese. I'd never tasted the boiled version, shui jiao  until a friend of mine from North-East China took me to a dumpling restaurant. The Japanese have their gyoza, the Koreans call theirs mandu and of course, the well known ravioli.






The shape of the dumplings look very similar to the golden ingots used during the Ming Dynasty. Knowing most Chinese symbolisms are to do with money, I'm assuming that eating these dumplings will bring prosperity. This brings back to mind my very first job at a telecommunications call center. All the Chinese customers (including my own dad!) always demanded numbers like 1388 or 1688. I once unknowingly gave a Cantonese customer the number 348 4444 which I thought was such an easy to remember telephone number. She was beside herself with rage, "you want me to DIE DIE DIE and to make sure that I'm truly dead, I DIE again?!"

Now I'm a bit of cheat and I take plenty of shortcuts. Terri of Hunger Hunger is an incredible cook who is also the crowned the queen of Jellyrific contest held by Royal Selangor a few weeks ago. I suggest you check out her made-from-scratch dumplings which are far more authentic than mine.

I tend to stick to store bought dumpling skins. I am pretty pedantic and will only buy ones that do not contain any preservatives or color. There are so many variations of fillings you could make. I make it up as I go along. In this case, I've included finely chopped carrots for the extra crunch. Besides, this is one way of getting Lil L to eat cooked carrots. She is "allergic" to veggies that aren't green.

On a side note, I'm usually pretty good at multi-tasking. Or so I thought. While I'm fiddling around with my camera and trying to fry the dumplings as well as boiling a kettle of water, I managed to burn the dumplings and my hand. Argh. I fail miserably in arts and craft so doing beautiful pleats on the dumplings is an impossible task for me. They don't have to look perfect. As long as the filling is sealed tightly inside the dumpling skin is good enough.




Ingredients

Makes approximately 75 guotie

600g lean pork mince
2 medium sized carrots, chopped finely (or blitz them in processor or blender)
1 heap tablespoon of grated ginger
4 tbps light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce


Method:



1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. I prefer using my hand because I can do it faster this way.




2. Scoop a dollop of the mince filling into the middle of the dumpling skin. The rule is not to overstuff your dumplings or else you won't be able to seal them without the filling spilling out. If the store bought skins are a little dry, just smear some water over them.



3. Wet one corner with water in order to seal the skin.




4. Press both sides in the middle so that they're sealed tight.




5. And do a a pleat on either side.



6. Get a non stick frying pan and drizzle a little sunflower oil (or vegetable oil but do not use olive oil as they burn fast) under medium heat. Lined the uncooked dumplings around the pan. Brown the base.




7. Once the base is brown, pour  1/4 glass of water (more if you're using a bigger pan). Turn up the heat to high.




8. Cover the pan so that the steam will cook the fillings thoroughly. Remove the lid once the water has been reduced. Turn down the heat to low. Continue cooking under low heat until the base is crispy. A decade ago, a friend suggested that I pour in a cornflour mixture to get a crispy base but it never worked. I noticed that the starch from the dumpling skin will do the same job easily.

Turning on the Lights

Christmas is a HUGE event here. On the first week of November, the council guys start putting up the Christmas lights and trees all around the city centre. It has been 3.5 years since we arrived in the UK but each time when Christmas comes around, we feel like we've stepped into a magic winter wonderland.





Last Thursday was the official "turning on the Christmas light" event where thousands converge on High St for the countdown. There was a band whose singer announced that they made it through "the house" on X Factor. Judging by the screaming teeny bopper girls, they must be a) cute and b) pretty good singers.







There was a Santa flouncing around with a winged Panda. The candy floss machine whirled non stop. I'm sure the balloon man made a fortune with the number of kids begging their parents for one. I've been told that there's a lantern procession to mark the first day of the Christmas market complete with an ice skating rink! I can't wait!

Milk and Straw

Call me crazy but I fell head over heels when I saw these mini milk bottles at a local store. They're a replica of the traditional milk bottles. The striped straws from Kikkerland are made entirely out of paper. If you're worried about the red ink, they're purportedly made of food safe ink. I get so many kids trudging in and out of my place. I thought it'd be a neat idea to have these around so that they can stop fighting over the same pink cups!

Village Fayre

Being a foreigner here in the UK, my only experience of village fairs is what little information I gleaned from Enid Blyton's books. So when my friend Sara urged me to check it out, I thought why not? I figured it's all part of the UK experience. Speaking of being a foreigner, I've been told off by Lil L and her friends for saying to-may-toes and ba-neh-nas. Every time I ask them if they wanted a glass of waa-terrrr, it sent them into peals of laughter. I've got myself a bunch of smarta$$ 5 year olds trying to give me elocution lessons. Geez.

So here we have two foreigners, an American and a Malaysian-Kiwi entering into a village fayre (note the pseudoarchaic spelling) and the first thing we saw was ferret racing. Yup, you didn't misread the fine print. It's actually a charity group that is similar to RSPCA but looks after ferrets. Unfortunately, I didn't think of bringing my DSLR and had to resort to my ancient iPhone camera.

To raise funds for the charity organization, you're allowed to bet on one of these ferrets. It was pretty hilarious race because it took them an awfully long time to figure out that they were supposed to run through the tunnel right to the very end and back again.

This is an AWESOME stall. Your boss pissed you off and you need to blow off some steam? Go smash some plates!

This is rather tame after smashing a few plates.




This spinning wheel reminds me of Sleeping Beauty. I later found out that the spinning wheel was custom made in New Zealand. Go Kiwis! Sorry, couldn't resist.





Doesn't this owl remind you of Harry Potter's pet?




There's also cake, pumpkin, organic vegetable, cookie etc etc competition on a rather small scale compared to the ones held in the US.



A poem about Simon Cowell from a budding poet.